


Log Date 4-11-18

by Mellium



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Coming of Age, Dark, Family, Gen, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9613196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellium/pseuds/Mellium
Summary: It's Peridot's first mission, things take a darker turn when she gets kidnapped by a Homeworld ship. Alone in a ship with only enemy gems as company, it becomes apparent that saving the day isn't as easy as the Crystal Gems seem to make it out to be. Can Peridot make it out with her gem intact, or will an even darker past catch up to both her and the rest of the Crystal Gems?





	1. Chapter 1

“Log Date 4-11-18, this is Peridot, Facet 2F5L Cut- no....” She hesitated and stopped the recorder to glance at her surroundings. There wasn’t really a point, not now. She couldn’t really even consider herself a facet or cut anything anymore. She was in too deep this time. Clearing her throat, the green gem continued,“This is Peridot...” She paused again and took a small breath, “I am currently being held in a containment field on a Homeworld scouting ship awaiting take off. Status report, I…”

Peridot’s voice hung in the air as she momentarily set the recorder down in her lap and stretched out her legs. She examined the bruises and scrapes she had acquired over the past few hours, she felt a hard break in the surface of her visor, wincing as her finger came in contact with the slight crack that webbed across her gem.

It had been a routine mission, one that Garnet had allowed her to go on by herself for the first time! She had spent the previous week pleading with Pearl and Garnet that she was ready. Even Steven and Connie had been allowed to go on a mission by themselves and with her ferrokinesis powers she felt like she was ready. Pearl had been a bit hesitant but Garnet had believed in her.

' _So much for being a Crystal Gem, Dot.’_ Peridot thought bitterly, curling her knees back up to her chest. Honestly this situation would be almost laughably ironic if she wasn’t so scared out of her mind.

A little over two years ago, she was the one who had been working for Homeworld and had trapped the Crystal Gems in containment cells very similar to the one that she was sitting in. Now she was separated from her friends, alone and on her way to what was most likely her death which was the same fate she tried to bring upon the others. It was almost poetic.

The humming of the containment field broke her out of her train of thought and Peridot picked up the recorder off her lap and examined the worn down piece of plastic. It was interesting that they hadn’t taken that away from her, though she wasn’t that surprised. A year ago she wouldn’t have worried about any ‘earth junk’ either, Peridot was honestly grateful that they had dismissed it so easily. At least she would have something to get her thoughts out too before they carted her off to Homeworld for good. Peridot turned the recorder in her hand and examined each scratch and discrepancy that had been accumulated on it during her adventures.

It had pieces of metal welded into the back from when Lapis had broken it a year ago, dings from training accidents, water damage from snowball fights and a few sticky spots where long ripped off stickers had been from Steven’s ‘Crying Breakfast Friends’ sticker book he had pasted on in an attempt to seal the few cracks that had webbed from the battery pouch. She didn’t consider herself a sentimental gem, Earth hadn’t made her go that soft but… Peridot clutched the recorder, anyone else would have called it junk but to her- it was memories.

Clicking the button, she listened for the familiar rewind blurb before continuing, “Status report;” She continued, clearing her throat, “-a few hematomas, superficial at most but there is a slight hairline fracture in the upper right table of the surface of my gem through the first facet.” The crack lines were very thin and honestly, she’d probably be shattered and recycled by Homeworld before it became a problem by the way things were looking. “Limbs and torso attached and mostly undamaged, slight ache in the left dorsum of my hand where I presumably tried to stop my fall...”

A small, dark part of her thoughts questioned whether the Crystal Gems would even notice that she didn’t come back from her mission, that they would just assume that she ran off to Homeworld again. She wouldn’t be surprised if they thought that she betrayed them again, if she were in their shoes she would be suspicious too. First mission alone and the gem who betrayed you in the past goes missing? She had gone to the Diamond Authority once before, what was stopping her from doing it again?

No, it was best to assume she was on her own.

“It seems to be a Private Red Eye.” Peridot tonelessly assessed, absently feeling along the insides of the cold walls of her cell. She hadn’t seen much when she was dragged aboard. All she really remembered was the crackle of electricity and a sharp thwack from behind. By the dull ache in her lower back, she assumed she had been hit with a destabilizer and had fallen face first into the ground. But even without a good look at the interior of the ship, the vibrations of the turbines and the humming of the field levels were about three degrees above standard issues. She was lucky enough to be able to profile such a high level ship when she had gone on the mission with Jasper to Earth. Even something like a Private Red Eye was far above her rank. Only higher level gems had used these kinds of ships, non technician and warrior class type gems, which made her wonder... “Why would they send one of these after a lone peridot?” She mused, speaking into her recorder, “It’s not-”

The loud woosh of the metal doors interrupted her recording. Peridot threw her hand up to cover her eyes from the harsh light that beamed through the open doors.

“-iamond! You’ll be lucky if you’re stationed on the outskirts of the Triquetra if not shattered for your complete-”

The voice became louder and louder and Peridot put her hand back down as a few figures appeared in the light and walked through the doors. Peridot scooted forward and stretched her neck in an attempt to get a better look.

“We were tricked!” A new voice spoke, Peridot now could see that it came from a Ruby soldier, the gem gleaming from its left eye which looked vaguely familiar. “Those Crystal Ge-”

"I don’t care what your excuses are.” A sharp cry rang out as the ruby was shoved by the into the side wall next to Peridot’s cell, cutting off any protests, “You can take that up with my Diamond after I round up the rest of your pitiful squadron.”

Peridot strained forward to try and get a look at her captor with no luck. The ruby fell back down to the floor and there was a harsh hum that filled the air. The red gem was thrown into a containment cell next to her own and there was a quiet flash of light as a new barrier came into place. Creeping up, Peridot cautiously looked out into the hallway and caught a glimpse of her assumed captor. She didn't get a chance to get much more than that before the mysterious entity disappeared into the next hallway.

Peridot let out a breath, “Continuing, log date 4-11-18,” She spoke into her recorder, bringing it up to her lips, “Still stuck in confinement but it seems that my captor has taken another; a ruby. It is assumed that our captor is looking for an entire squadron of rubies-” The green gem paused and glanced fervently at the gem sprawled out in the cell next to her own, “Luckily, it appears not to be the same ruby that makes up the permafusion, though that is apparent without the necessary indication of gem location.” Peridot let out a small breath of amusement, “That is a very apparent by the lack of rage and singing, so obviously the permafusion is very much likely to still be-”

A loud groan pierced through the thin layers of the barriers and Peridot turned to meet the eyes or eye in this case of an angry gem.

“You!” The ruby spat, pointing angrily at Peridot as the gem pushed itself off the floor.

“Me?” Peridot squawked indignantly as the ruby slammed itself against the side wall of the cell in an attempt to break through to get through to her.

“You did this to me!” The red gem spat, gritting its teeth as the gem bounced back and slammed against the floor once again, “You and those Crystal Gems! Why I otta-”

“I don’t even know you!” Peridot shrieked, scooting back away from the angry gem that was raging on the other side of what she realized to be a very thin layer of electricity.

The ruby again bounced harshly off the barrier and Peridot winced as electricity coursed up through the ruby. The red gem panted and slumped back against the wall, “But it’s not like it matters now.” The ruby muttered, scowling as a pudgy hand ran over the gleaming gem in its eye socket.

Peridot gave the fellow prisoner a long look before it finally clicked in her mind, “You’re from that ruby squadron that came after me a year ago!” She cried indignantly, standing up to give the gem a suspicious look. “You’re the one that tried to kill Steven aren’t you?!”

“You think that matters now?” The ruby let out a harsh growl and gave Peridot a cutting look that sent shivers down her spine. The green gem backed up a few steps but much to her confusion, the rather violate ruby instead slumped down against the back wall. “You don’t get it do you?!” The red gem spat, slamming a fist down into the floor, wincing as the bruises ached with the action. “Of course you wouldn’t… You Crystal Gems don't know anything.”

Peridot gave a suspicious stare, “Know what?” She haughtily asked, insulted at the implication. She hated it when any gem, especially one that could easily be considered under her in rank would blatantly call her out for being stupid, only Pearl was allowed to do that. And even then, she didn’t like it, she prided herself on being the smartest one out of the Crystal Gems.

“I failed!” The ruby snarled, “My squadron, my team we failed in our mission.” The harsh tone tapered out to a solemn whimper. Peridot gulped as an eye burned into her own, the ruby’s brow creased, “And to have a ship sent after you from Homeworld itself is-”

“-the ultimate shame.” Peridot spoke the familiar words in unison with the other, rubbing the faded edges of the yellow diamond insignia on her uniform that she had once taken so much pride in. A whirlwind of emotions ran through her. She could still remember the first time she had come to earth. It was a mission just like any other and just like any other gem, she had prided herself on fulfilling her mission...

Peridot stared at the dejected ruby and scooched a little closer to the barrier between them. She remember the first feelings of confusion and anger when she had first found her robonoids destroyed and the warp pads in disrepair. The feeling of failure when she ran back to Homeworld to report her inability to complete her mission. Peridot ran her fingers over her cracked visor and grit her teeth, remembering the condescending looks when she had come back to Homeworld empty handed with only the circuitry of her broken limb enhancers to show for her efforts.

Peridot had no doubts that the other gem was experiencing the same kind of hysteria and panic that had coursed through her when the ship with Jasper went down. Peridot herself could look back on her own sense of loneliness and anger when she realized just how alone she was on Earth. Her own hard thoughts of bitterness towards the Crystal Gems and towards this world in general when she had lost her precious limb enhancers for good. And then when she had finally contacted Homeworld… Peridot took a small breath, the rejection of your Diamond and the crushing sense of uselessness on your shoulders, that was the hardest thing of all. The feeling made you want to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Peridot could remember it all, she wasn’t that far removed from Homeworld like the others, they were still distant memories; she could still vividly recall what happened when you didn’t fulfill your mission. How it felt to have your gem on the line at every moment.

“We’re going to be shattered… aren’t we?” The ruby murmured with uncharacteristic seriousness, “My squadron, my crew, all of us…”

It wasn’t a question.

Peridot let out a small breath through her nose, she was well aware of that. She’s been on the ‘to be shattered’ list since she had been captured by the Crystal Gems. Every gem knew that if you were caught by the enemy, and that if they didn’t kill you, Homeworld would for your incompetence. It was the same for those rubies, they had been tricked by them not once but twice.

The green gem gave the ruby a long look, “It doesn’t have to be that way.” She blurted, surprised at the words coming out of her mouth, “We could just-

The ruby turned a fierce glare to the green gem, “Don’t you dare-” The red gem seethed, pushing up onto its knees, “Don’t you dare tell me how things can and can’t be.” The ruby was now standing to meet Peridot’s crouched position, eye to eye. “I deserve to be shattered, I failed my mission but if the Diamonds are merciful then I will have a second chance at redemption!”

The ruby was shaking with anger and Peridot backed away from the smaller gem’s frightening form, “You ran away from responsibility and from your duties because you were scared. Don’t drag me down with your treacherous plans! You’re only going to make it worse. Don’t you think I know what could happen to my squadron, my friends?!” By now the ruby was crying, fat tears ran down the gem’s face and pudgy red hands dug into the material of it’s uniform.

“We could escape!” Peridot spoke up with more bravado than she felt as the lump in her throat grew more and more prominent as the weight of the situation came crashing down on her.

“Escape?” The ruby sneered, “Look around!” The gem spat, throwing its arms wildly into the air. “If you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a containment field on a ship that is going back to Homeworld.

Peridot paused for a moment and she looked around the small cell she was in. The other gem was right, according to all calculation, all previous documentation, escaping without being recaptured and destabilized was very slim. Without any knowledge of the layout of the ship or weapons to defend themselves and with their previous injuries on top of that made it almost impossible odds.

“That’s what I thought.” The one eyed gem muttered, moving to sit back on its haunches. “You might as well give up.”

Peridot lightly dragged her fingers across the raised veins in the mechanics and focused on the vibrations that echoed through the wall. The energy in the containment field grid ran all along the sides, webbing out into the ceiling just beneath the steel coated metal. She could feel the vibrations echo through each vein. Peridot looked down at the dented recorder in her hand and resolve filled her. She gripped the recorder in her fist and felt the metal pop out from the plastic covering. “I’m a Crystal Gem now.” She affirmed, adjusting the cracked visor on her face so her gem was sticking out. She couldn’t just give up.

The ruby leveled her with a look, “If you’re smart,” The gem muttered, “-you would stop talking like that and keep your mouth shut. If you’re only considered damaged, you still gotta a chance at going in for retraining and still making it out with your gem intact.”

Peridot ignored the words. She torqued the plastic off the side of where it was attached and disassembled the inside so most of the metal was out. Peridot stuck the rest of the plastic inside a small pocket on her uniform. Holding the small rods in her hands, she focused herself and worked to reshape the metal. A small glow weakly flickered from her gem and Peridot took a sharp gasp as a spike of pain burst from the cracks in her facet. Ignoring the stinging sensation that was emulating from her gem, she focused in elongating the metal. For a few moment everything was quiet as the smallest of the Crystal Gems strained in her task. Slowly but surely, the thick hunks of metal were pulled into a singular, long, sharp point.

“What are you doing?! Didn’t you hear what I just said!” The harsh voice of the soldier hissed through the cells, “Just quit it already! You can’t escape and the only thing you’re going to do is get both of us in trouble!”

“I am a Crystal Gem.” Peridot repeated, gripping the deadly sharp shank in her fist, “I don’t know when to give up!” On that note she stabbed the metal into the side of the wall and into the containment energy grid, smiling as horror filled the ruby’s face. Steven would of high-fived her for that one.

“What are you doing!” The other scrambled back, “You’ll never be able to get-”

The next words were cut out by a shuddering screech of metal and a blinding blast of sickly yellow light. In the next moment, the containment field barrier went down and Peridot stumbled out of her smoke filled cell. Shaking the ash from her smouldering hair, she let out a cackle and scrambled up onto her feet. Her uniform was burnt in a few places and she was absolutely covered in grime but overall her gem seemed to have sustained little damage.

“Ha! Take that you stupid clods!” Peridot smugly gestured, doing a small victory dance. The ruby gaped openly as the younger gem let out another manic laugh.

The red gem stood and pressed herself as close to the outside containment field as possible without getting electrocuted. “But how?” She muttered, carefully keeping her own hands away from the violate barrier.

“It appears my escape was a success!” She preened with her usual narcissistic boasting as she scrambled up to examine the controls, “Not unexpected due the the genius that I am,” Peridot grinned and began to fiddle with the screen, “These clods won’t know what hit them!”

“You-”

“I’ll have you out in just a second.” Peridot loudly exclaimed, swiping her hand across the screen. There was a low shuttering and the green gem watched with glee as the containment energy barrier faded until it was completely gone. “See!” She boasted, turning in her chair to examine the controls once again, “I told you I could get you out. Escaping this cloddy place will be a cinch!”

There was no response and Peridot rolled her eyes. “Didn't you hear what I said?!” She spoke, throwing her arms in the air. “I said I'm going to help you escape! The least you could do would be to thank me!”

“Escape hmm?” There was a slight chuckle and a silence fell over the area, “Well isn't that interesting. I would've never expected a Peridot and a Ruby to ever team up.”

Peridot spun around at the deep sultry voice and almost fell off the stool out of shock.

“You-” The ruby strained, their face turning even more red as their air passage was blocked from the constricting hand shoved against their throat. The red gem didn’t get another chance to choke out another word before the steel like hand carelessly fell away and their body slumped lifelessly against the floor.

“Then again,” The Homeworld gem remarked, stepping over the body of the fallen ruby, “I’ve never really expected much of an Era Two gem.”

Peridot’s eyes widened and she tore her gaze away from the brutal sight and into the blazing eyes of a familiar face- a peridot. And not just any peridot, an Era One to be exact. Bitter feelings of resentment rose within her as Peridot stared at the service gem before her.

Era One and Era Two Peridots had always been bitter rivals despite being almost the same in design- or rather, the similarity in design is what caused the problems in the first place. They were both designated service gems that came from the same types of kindergartens. The competition was fierce, Homeworld really only needed one type of service gem and both wanted to be on top- And with your gem on the line… animosity between the two types was high.

The Era One Peridot was a relic from a war torn blight on Homeworld’s past. They were built more like war machines than the service gems they were supposed to be. Once the war ended and they weren't needed anymore and Homeworld began pumping out a new type of gem that was completely different than the older model.

She knew enough about Era One gems to know that this peridot would have no problem shattering a loyal Era Two Peridot let alone one who had defected from Homeworld. Turning on her heel, Peridot turned to run but skidded to a halt as a loud screech sounded out as thick metal doors came crashing down and cut off all exits.

Peridot held a breath as the Era One gem stepped towards her, artificial light gleaned off of the shiny limb enhancers. Transparent numbers and different amounts of data streamed through the air and disappeared in a flash of light. Peridot looked on with barely contained envy, they were top of the line. She recognized the limb enhancers from the prototype models she had looked over before she had gone on that fateful mission to earth. They had a special ability to connect with the user and could be personalized depending on what kind of task you needed them for. These ones were clearly specialized to have remote control of the main frame.

“Like these huh?” The peridot purred, standing at full height as the gem showed them off. “Hot off the press,” Peridot watched as the digits seemed to move with a grace of motion that her’s had never even come close to having.

“Anti-gravity capacitors.” Her captor continued, moving the digits so they moved in intricate patterns all along the base of the limb enhancer. “Everything moves with a two hundred percent efficiency rate with no lag. And they’re so small that-

“The drag decreases and the extra space leaves room for an entire circuiting system that couldn’t previously fit.” Peridot concluded blandly, taking the thunder out of that obvious revelation. She had already figured that out by looking at it.

“Oh? Is that all?” The Era One Peridot seemed to preen, giving her a nasty look, “And I thought little synthetics such as yourself were supposed to be smart.”

‘ _Ah. Here comes the slanders.’_ Peridot frowned but said nothing. She was well aware of what Era One gems called Era Two gems. Synthetic was a nasty term they liked to use, referring to them as base shells of ‘real’ gems.

“Nothing to say hmm? You're more pathetic than I had previously anticipated.” The Homeworld gem sneered, giving her a nasty glare of pure malice that almost made Peridot shudder. “Though I'm not surprised, all you little runts seem to be able to do is scurry around and cower.” The Era One Peridot walked around in a showy fashion that even made Peridot herself want to groan- she was worse than Sardonyx and that was an accomplishment in itself.

Peridot bit back a snarky response as her eyes narrowed on the limb enhancers. Right now, she was trapped in a room with a gem she had no clue what the full extent of her abilities were. Her eyes briefly glanced to the ruby still slumped on the floor. If she was going to escape, she was going to have to be careful about this. And if she had learned anything from her training with Garnet, you had to wait for the opportunity to strike against a stronger opponent.

Peridot closed her eyes briefly at the memory. When she first decided she wanted to fight alongside the Crystal Gems, Pearl had told her she wasn’t ready and she needed training. Peridot had laughed in her face and point blank refused, saying she was ready for anything. She and Pearl had gotten really into it she had made the mistake of saying that there was nothing she could learn from the likes of a pearl.

The moment afterwards would be stuck in her mind forever. Pearl, instead of getting angry, gave her a warm smile- one that she would’ve given Steven, that should've set off a few warning bells in itself- and calmly invited her to the arena. In her own boasting, they ended up making a bet, If Peridot won, then she could fight along the Crystal Gems no problem.

Peridot, in her own pride and ignorance, declared that she didn't even want to hear Pearl’s conditions as she wasn't going to lose. As they made their way to temple- Peridot hadn't even noticed as everyone had fearfully cleared the room. Only Garnet had come along to see the match, but looking back at it now- it was probably to make sure that Pearl didn't hurt her too badly.

Peridot chuckled to herself and rubbed her arms at the ghost pains. The moment she had walked into the temple was the first of her many mistakes she had made over the few years. She remembered the cold fury and precision in which Pearl stuck her down with. The gem didn't really physically wound her besides a few cuts and scrapes but her pride had been in tatters. It had been a humbling lesson that day.

The condition that she had learned later, was that Peridot had to train with the three oldest Crystal Gems, learning all the different aspects of their fighting styles and only after she had learned a significant amount and completed a few of their tests- could she then fight along with them and go on her own missions. It had been a little over a year since that day and Peridot had thrown herself into training, bitterly declaring that she would beat all the Crystal Clods at their own game.

She had learned a lot since then and had actually become pretty good friends with the Crystal Gems. Pearl, a few months later had actually come up to her and apologized about the whole incident. It made for a good story that was told once in awhile at the ‘Together Dinners’ with Greg, Connie and the rest of the Crystal Gems.

“What, are you a pearl? Are you so afraid that you can do nothing but stand there? Speak!”

Peridot shook her head and suddenly she was yanked from the warm, sunny beach house and back in the dank, cold, Homeworld ship. Her eyes narrowed at her captors informant words as a surge of protectiveness rose in her. This time, she just couldn't keep quiet- only she could talk about her teammate like that.

“A pearl? I'll take that as a compliment.” She spoke in a biting tone, though it was the complete truth. Peridot had come to respect Pearl as the gem she should've recognized her as the first time they had met. “If you were anything like the pearl I've met then maybe someone might actually respect you. But, sadly- all you seem to be is rust bucket who has long since been useful.”

Instead of being angry, her captor blinked for a moment and barked out a laugh. Peridot cringed at the sound. It was like that hyena thing that she had seen on one of Steven’s documentaries. It was just as spine chilling as it had been back then except this time, she didn't have Garnet’s cube of hair to hide in.

“Met a pearl eh?” The Era One gem bared her teeth, “My oh my! It seems that someone is moving up in the world.” The last word was spit out of her mouth and her captor stared at her with a dark look of seeded interest. “So tell me? What kind of pearl was it?” The gem causally continued, swirling her digits around in a practiced manner.

Peridot visibly wearied at the slick reply and backed up a step, she had blundered and needed to back track. “I don't remember,” She lied, her teammates face in mind. “It was a long time ago.”

“Oh! Surely you remember! It must of been a one of a kind pearl for you to think so highly of it. Afterall, everyone knows what a common pearl is just something to use and throw away.” The Era One gem gave her an ear splitting grin that revealed a set of sharp teeth. “So what made this one so special? Was it the movements, the style, a specific model? Or was it something more?”

Peridot said nothing, carefully making sure to keep her distance as the gem began to circle around the room towards her. The Era One gem paused in her tracks for a moment and her eyes went to slits. An unspoken tension seemed to rise up, Peridot nervously took a step back as the Era One gem took two more towards her. The green gem’s back hit up against the wall and Peridot couldn’t help but gulp as a pair of hard radioactive eyes met her own. With a vicious movement, Peridot felt herself roughly pinned up against the wall as a fist twisted into the front of her uniform and hauled her up. Peridot let out a sputtering gasp and reflexively grabbed onto the hand that was just inches away from her throat.

“You think you’re so clever.” The other hissed, “Give them to me!” The Homeworld gem spat, spittle flying as the underlying anger came bubbling to the surface. “Where is their base?! Where are you hiding them?!” It took everything Peridot had, everything in her coding and stature to keep from curling up away from the thundering shouts that promised pain.

Peridot tried to twist back but felt the hand tighten, “Hiding? W-Who are you talking about?” The gem’s nervous chuckles turned into a choking gasp as she was suddenly thrusted forward, nose to nose with the enemy.

“The Renegade Pearl!” The Era One gem bellowed, her fist sharply cracking against the wall beside her head. Peridot bit back a noise of disbelief as the color drained from her face. “How stupid do you think I am, synthetic?! Give me the Crystal Gems!” Peridot’s widened at the announcement and her eyes narrowed just slightly. “I saw the images! I know that they're still on this miserable rock!”

The Era Two gem was aware of the stories, the way Pearl and Garnet were apparently ‘totally awesome’ in the war or however Steven had put it. The thing about it was that she had only ever heard of vague, long forgotten rumors during her time on Homeworld. She was even privileged enough read a few files from the limited data archives she had access to during that time period as a technician- which was more than what most gems got.

Even on Earth, the war was a bit of a taboo around the temple and she herself had no real desire to inquire about some dusty piece of history. Sometimes she forgot that the Crystal Gems were originally a rebel faction that started a war and resulted in the shattering of hundreds of thousands of gems, including a Diamond.

But the way this gem spoke about it, this wasn’t just about some score to settle or some sort of clean up mission, it was war- it was still war. Peridot stiffened and her mouth went dry at the realization of what exactly she was up against. The sleek model of the limb enhancers couldn’t hide the old, battle torn form of the old gem. Peridot could see the corded muscle and the ripped scarring underneath. What made Peridot’s heart clench was the crazed, blood thirsty look. Whatever was going on, it was more than just a mission- this was personal and Peridot wanted absolutely no part of it. She needed to get out of here, now.

“Even if I did know where these ‘Crystal Gems’ were,” Peridot started again, pushing her scrawny legs against the wall as a semblance of a plan formed in her mind. Her eyes narrowed on the foreboding limb enhancers and the delicate circuitry underneath. “I’d never tell the likes of you!” With a battle cry, Peridot pushed off the wall in a burst of energy and kicked the limb enhancer grasping her uniform. She felt the hand loosen and she quickly shimmied her way down to the floor.

The Homeworld gem stumbled back from her outburst and fell into the open cell that Peridot herself had just broken out from. There was a hard bang, a deafeningly loud buzz of electricity and a hard crunch but Peridot didn’t bother to turn her head back to look through the smoke. The green gem instead scampered quickly to the control board. An explosive yell echoed out and Peridot’s spine straightened.

“When I get my hands on you-”

“Come on, come on, come on!” Peridot harshly muttered, swiping a fist across the board as new info streamed onto the screen as she quickly hacked through the security system. With a hard press of a button, the barrier was recreated and the gem was trapped behind it. Peridot gave a beaming grin of victory and pump fisted, spinning in the chair. “Nehehehe~! One for Peridot, none for the cloddy Homeworld losers!” She couldn’t help but boast as she childishly stuck out a tongue at smoke filled cell that was containing the Homeworld threat. The barrier was designed to hold in the strongest of gems. Only a fusion like Garnet could possibly break through it, her captor wasn't going anywhere. She’d made sure of that when she kicked the limb enhancer.

There was a reason Peridot hadn't chosen to take the prototype when she went to Earth. Data steaming was fantastic for a ship but terrible for any sort of field work. The circuitry was incredibly delicate and unless it was seriously fortified- the remote console feature could be destroyed by a singular, well placed kick by an Era Two ‘synthetic’.

Quickly, Peridot turned to face the other Homeworld gem in the vicinity. Peridot’s eyes searched the form of the ruby sprawled out on the floor but there seemed to be no signs of stirring coming from the downed gem. Peridot nodded her head and breathed a small sigh of relief, dealing with one crazy Homeworld gem was enough for her.

Turning around quickly in her chair, Peridot threw open the controls and force-opened the doors that would lead to her escape. Jumping off the chair, she paused for a second before looking back at the main frame. The emergency open procedure was on the screen with all its hazards and warnings still blinking.

Because of her time frame, she hadn’t tried to go in undetected so the system knew she was there and was actively trying to circumvent her out. That meant that she only had a little over ten minutes tops to get through the open doors and out. If she didn't, the ship would take off and she would be on a one way trip to Homeworld.

Her head turned back towards the smoke filled cell and the muffled yells. Peridot got a wicked grin and she couldn't help but run her hands together. Flipping through the panel, she pulled out wiring under the dash. Stripping the outside of the wire, she sparked the two together and sent a nasty jolt through the system. Numbers filled the screen before fuzzing out as they glitched. Scrambling the hype warp link to Earth’s coordinates would make it almost impossible to ever come back to this planet again.

Peridot lifted herself out of her chair and scampered over to the door. She didn't have any limb enhancers if her own to scan the area but her own ingrained knowledge of ships came in very handy. If she was right, there should be a service hatch just around the bend and to the left which would lead directly to the hull of the ship.

But as Peridot took a step outside the door, she couldn't help but turn back towards the blinking screen and regretfully, the knocked out ruby. As much as her mind was screaming at her to just forget it and go, a quieter yet stronger urge reminded her of the perfect opportunity she had.

Right now, she had a unrestricted to go through a treasure trove of information that she nor the Crystal Gems had ever accessed before. This was still a mission of sorts and despite her getting captured along the way- maybe she could turn this around into something that would be a triumph instead of an escape. Not only that but… She let out a quiet sigh and her eyes trained in on the red gem. Peridot had no doubt that if she left right now, the ruby would most definitely be shattered immediately upon arrival to Homeworld. Something pulled at her conscious and the green gem couldn't help but feel for the other.

Peridot couldn't say that she hadn't once been the exact same way. She herself had tried numerous times to try and sabotage and hurt the Crystal Gems her first few months on Earth. She had even contacted Yellow Diamond in an attempt to betray them all. She said many horrible things to almost everyone who had spent any sort of time with her. It wasn't something she was proud of, but the despite her actions- Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, Steven and almost everyone else had whole heartedly forgiven her. And even now she wasn't perfect and didn't do everything she was supposed to. If she of all gems had gotten a second chance then surely..?

 _‘What would Steven say?’_ Peridot mused, closing her eyes for a brief moment. The green gem shook her head just slightly and closed her fists in resolve. She already knew what Steven would’ve done by now. He would try to save anyone and everyone.

With her mind set, Peridot made her way over to the downed gem. The green gem squatted down on her knees and frowned. She took a small breath and her palms began to sweat. Peridot herself wasn't exactly a big fan of the gems who had once threatened to capture her and kill Steven. What if this one woke up and attacked her? The ship rumbled and Peridot slowly inched forward.

“Hey,” She murmured, tentatively poking a pudgy arm. As soon as her finger came in contact with the other, she fell back on her butt and quickly scooted back about ten feet. Her arms were held up in a defensive posture… But the other didn't move.

Peridot slowly relaxed her arms and frowned. Scowling a little, she crawled back over. “Hey, wake up.” She spoke a little louder, jabbing the ruby in the arm a bit harder this time. The red gem was still dead to the world and Peridot’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. The lights flashed from the control board and a small sense of urgency filled her. Her eyes glanced towards the cell but she couldn't see anything beyond the smoke.

Her fear gone, Peridot stood up and leaned over the downed gem. She invaded the ruby’s personal space as she face was inches from the others. “Hey! Wake up you clod! We need to leave!” She obnoxiously shouted, slapping a hand into the gem’s shoulder. But to no avail, the ruby didn't even stir. Huffing in annoyance, Peridot poked the ruby in the face and took a close look at the gem that was protruding from its eye. There didn't seem to be any damage and the ruby hadn't poofed… So what was the problem?!

“I don't have time for this.” Peridot muttered.. But it wasn't like she was going to just leave them. Wrapping her forearms securely underneath the gem’s armpits, Peridot slowly dragged the red gem across the room.

‘ _Rubies’ are heavier than they look!’_ Peridot huffed to herself, quietly pushing the broken form up against the wall next to the hangar door. _‘That should do it for now.’_ She thought, nodding a bit at her handiwork. The green gem briefly questioned how exactly she was supposed to explain bringing a former enemy home- but she’d figure that out after she escaped this place with the data in hand.

Turning sharply on her heel, the green gem scampered over to the console board. Peridot threw herself into the programming and her eyes scanned the controls.

A quiet breath left her as she tore through the archives and swiped through file after file of classified information on many different security details and high profile targets that Homeworld had information on. There was too much to go through and too little time. She needed to burn all of this data so she could look through when she got back to the barn.

Peridot felt the fried plastic of her tape recorder poke slightly out from her pocket. Her brows knitted as an idea came to mind. Flipping over the shell of the recorder, she began to quickly hotwire the little bits of plastic wire and battery that were somewhat left from when she had ripped the metal out earlier. If she could hotwire it to the basic controls of the recorder, it could be made into a small memory chip to pull at least a small chunk of the files to take back with her. Peridot’s eyes went back to the count down, only seven minutes left- this had to work!

Focusing her mind, she held the broken recorder out in front of her and concentrated. Slowly but surely, the dull ache from her gem intensified and she strained as a soft green glow enveloped the strands of wire and pulled them close together. Together they burned red and Peridot let out a shuddering breath as it collapsed down in front of her with a dull thud of plastic against metal.

She slumped against the seat and wiped the back of her hand across her grimy face. The pain emulating from her gem was like a heartbeat, throbbing with each movement. But Peridot ignored it and instead gripped the finished piece and delicately sparked it to the wires of the control board she had exposed earlier.

For a moment, nothing happened. Peridot’s uneven breathing staggered with her frustration and she slammed her fists over the top of the controls, “Work you stupid-” That seemed to do the trick as suddenly a bright flashing bar appeared. ‘Download In Progress’ flashed up on the screen and Peridot grinned and made a move to readjust her visor. Her hand touched the edges of her cracked visor, causing it to crack even more. Edging her fingers away with a frown, she settled for putting her hands down at her side.

Peridot watched the bar begin to slowly fill and she jumped back into the chair and swiveled it around again. The green gem wanted to see if she could stop the system from circumventing her out and give her more time. But with each passing moment, error messages plagued the screen and it seemed that there was no changing what had been done. Now it was a race, if the download didn’t complete before the system was reset then all the data would be lost.

‘ _All I need is time.’_ Peridot thought; kicking her legs impatiently as they dangled from where she sat. Looking around at the smoking corridor and the uneasy silence that had come over, the green gem couldn't help but look around.

 _‘Look at me now!’_ She couldn’t help but smirk, watching the countdown carefully as she slid back into the chair. Peridot bit her lip and stared up at the screen. This is what a real Crystal Gem would do! She was totally completing an awesome mission and everything!

Her own heart fluttered just slightly at the thought and a her mind flashed with the picture of her friends in her mind’s eye. This would be a great story to brag to Lapis and the others when she got back, coolest first mission ever! The great and awesome Peridot singlehandedly took control of an enemy ship!

“Hehe, Maybe I should be the leader of the Crystal Gems now!” Peridot boasted flippantly, standing up on her seat with a flourish. Peridot, leader of the Crystal Gems- it had a nice ring to it. Thinking about it, she didn’t mind the stars, but for a uniform change- maybe everyone could wear visors! Garnet already had a pair, so it would work out perfectly!

Suddenly there was a hard clatter and a loud bang that made Peridot jump. The walls seemed to shake and the barrier flickered and popped. An acidic plume filled the air.

“Leader?! Is that what you think you are?!” The harsh growl sounded out and it grated against Peridot’s ears. A dissonant sound resounded out and she realized after a moment that it was supposed to be a laugh.

A silhouette appeared in the smoke. Peridot could see the sparking wires from the side of the limb enhancer she had previously damaged. The Era One Peridot rose to full height and her face just barely came inches from the electricity running through the barrier. The pure look of malice and anger in the other’s eyes made Peridot want to hide.

“Do you know what I did to the last rebel leader I came across?” The tone darkened and the smoke finally cleared to reveal the entirety of the gem that was previously hidden. Peridot choked back. She hadn't realized just how _big_ the Era One gem was in comparison to herself.

With more bravado than she felt, Peridot turned to look back at the Era One Gem, “D-Doesn't matter what you s-say, y-you, you c-clod!” She stuttered out, her eyes flashing between the screen, the cell and her escape route. “You're stuck in there, and I'm out here! It's not like your ‘fancy’ limb enhancers can do anything-”

The barrier once again shuttered under the bangs and Peridot took a gulping step back as the walls around the cell groaned. The download was about ninety percent complete and she only had about two minutes left until time would run out. The lights flickered for a moment and suddenly the banging stopped. Peridot felt a pair of eyes land on her once again.

“Is that what you think defect?” The veteran purred, her hands reaching out to barley swipe against the barrier. The punishing bursts of electricity didn't even seemed to phase the gem as it almost seemed to play with the current running through the barrier. A large fist slammed ominously into the metal frame and the barrier glitched for a moment before settling back.

The countdown clicked with every second and a dark cloud of tension wavered over the room. The hangar door creaked and a wide crack broke through the surrounding walls of the cell. “If you think that I need some sort of limb enhancers to break out of here then you're _dead wrong!_ ”

The numbers shifted and as the five minute mark clocked, chaos broke out. With a powered charge, the Era One gem burst through the wall. Peridot barely had time to shriek or even make a run for it before the gem was on her.

She felt herself lifted high into the air before slamming back down into the floor. Peridot doubled over and the wind was knocked out of her. The green gem didn’t even get a chance to recover before she was knocked into the wall and her head was slammed down into the control system.

“You Era Two gems never did understand machinery.” The voice echoed through Peridot’s ears and her head spun from her slumped position against the consol. Her temple throbbed and Peridot rolled her head back as a shadow fell over her. “Not in the way true Peridots understand it. It's not just a fancy tool or a fancy piece of equipment-” The veteran swooped over her, it's large body blocking escape and Peridot pushed herself as far away as she could, her body pressing against the console in an attempt to make herself invisible. A limb enhancer was lowered and Peridot’s spine stiffened felt the sharpened edge of a digit press against her chest. Her legs shook and she could feel the uniform begin to rip. She could do nothing but stare wide eyed with a look of fear as the cold metal pressed up against her bare skin.

“-It's part of who you are.” The Era One’s eyes flashed something indecipherable before it bared its teeth. “You of course are nothing more than a blight on Homeworld’s record.” The floating digit that was just pressing into her chest was pulled away. Peridot barely had a chance to sigh in relief before the Era One Gem lunged.

She was suddenly lifted in the air by the scruff of her neck and pulled nose to nose with the Era Two gem. “But despite your base level minerals- you happen to be good for one thing, and that’s information.” The Homeworld gem sneered and roughly, shaking her up and down like a cat. “Now, tell me-” The veteran imposed, forcing eye contact with the smaller gem. “Where are the remaining Crystal Gems!”

Peridot’s feet kicked in the air and her face screwed together fear and discomfort. She took a haggard breath and grit her teeth. She turned her head away, “I don't know what you’re-”

“Don't lie to me!”

A fist was uppercut into her chin and Peridot lifted up into the air as she went flying back. Her body skidded across the floor and Peridot let out a hiss of pain as she roughly slid to a halt. Lifting up a hand, she wiped the blood running down her split chin and winced at the new holes in the knees of her uniform.

Peridot shakily lifted herself to her feet. She could see the screen flashing and there was a distinct tone that rang out. The download was finished! Peridot rang a hand through her grimy hair and set her sights on the gem standing in her way. Her back was to the door and she briefly entertained the thought of running. Not that it would work, she had no doubts that she would be immediately overtaken.

Peridot ran a hand up along her facet. The crack had enlarged and in her current state- there was no way that she was going to be able to fight off an Era One war veteran head on. A feeling of grim realization weighed down on her chest. _‘I have be smart about this.'_ Peridot mused, her quiet pants going unnoticed under the high pitched whine of the computer.

There was four minutes left, the computer was pretty much in basic reset mode. After the reset, even if she did miraculously defeat the Homeworld gem, there was no way she would have the time to get through the service hatch and out before the ship blasted off. If she could hard restart the system, it might prolong the timer and allow her more time to come up with a better plan… The only way to do that would be with an insane amount of electrical current directed right into th base.

“You have no chance synthetic, give it up!” Her captor spoke harshly. The Era One gem didn't even seemed slightly intimidated or even on high alert by her in the slightest. Peridot racked her brain, dozens of half baked plans and schemes ran through her mind but none seemed even close to plausible. She had none of the resources she needed.

Peridot took a small breath and lightly rubbed a hand across her forehead. Blood caked her fingertips and she clenched her fists together. If she had learned anything on Earth- it was that life was beautiful, vibrant, unexpected and so much more than she had ever thought it would be. A short time of living the extraordinary was better than a lifetime of oppressed ordinary.

She remembered the rain, the feeling of something new and special drip down from the sky. She remembered Camp Pining Hearts and the hours she spent with Lapis building meepmorps. She remembered building the drill with Pearl and the many times they had bickered and laughed together. She remembered watching the stars with Garnet and the feeling of confidence and love the gem exuded with every thought and action. She remembered Amethyst and the many adventures they had together in the shortie squad and many other silly games and jokes. She remembered Steven and the belief he had in her, the unwavering confidence he had in the people around him.

But most of all, Peridot remembered what she was fighting for.

She felt a rise in determination. The chances of her escaping now were a lot slimmer than before. But, that didn't mean she was going to give up! She was be new to this ‘rebel’ thing, but what the Crystal Gems stood for was something she would fight for until the end.

“I am a Crystal Gem!” Peridot spoke with a bravado that covered th quaking of her legs. She was fighting for the rain, for meepmorps and Camp Pining Hearts. She was fighting for Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems. Peridot was fighting for her freedom and the ability to live life the way she wanted to live it!

“I won't ever give up you clod!” Peridot announced boldly as she faced up her opponent. She just needed to last for a few more minutes. If she could at least stall would be enough to keep the others safe. Even if the ship blasted off, no one would be able to get back to Earth. Not the hostile enemy gem, not even herself

If she couldn't escape in the end, she’d make sure this gem could never get to her friends.

Her sentiment didn't seem to phase the other gem in the slightest. Instead, an indecipherable look flashed and a low grating chuckle boomed off the walls. “Those are some bold words, synthetic.” Something seemed to shift and a harsh yellow filled the room as the veteran’s gem glowed.

A blinding light flashed and Peridot lifted a hand to shield her eyes. As the glow dissipated, a sickening feeling churned in the pit of her stomach. The limb enhancers that the Homeworld gem had been sporting were dramatically shifted. Pieces fell off, exposing older more rustic looking metal. Sitting higher up, there was a whole new segment of weaponry exposed that had been previously hidden.

It was dark hued and looked all the more scary. Obviously they hadn't been used before and by the almost excited look on her captor’s face- this was new to her as well. “This prototype is technically only available for maintenance work.” The gem spoke, lightly examining the limb enhancer that Peridot had been staring at. “It's really only supposed to be implemented for hard starting an engine's internal stabilizer but with a few minor adjustment-” Electricity crackled in the air and Peridot felt the hair on the back of her neck raise. “-It’s a very _effective_ motivator.”

Her legs shook and she took a hard gulp and took a few steps back. Peridot had already been at the end of a destabilizer once in the last twenty four hours and had no desire to be hit by one again. But despite her fear, Peridot’s chin jutted out in defiance. She had one small ace up her sleeve.

“You can't kill me you know!” Peridot spoke loudly, bravado coloring her words. “Homeworld wants me alive! You can't go against your orders, you’ll be shattered yourself!” Her eyes flashed to clock on the screen, only a minute left. Her captor blinked before letting out a degrading laugh, Peridot faltered and shrunk under the patronizing look.

“You think Homeworld actually cares if you're shattered or not?!” The Era One gem spoke, all humor gone and instead replaced with a dark malice. “You’re nothing! Not to Homeworld and not to the Crystal Gems either!” Her captor clicked her tongue and the digits of her limb enhancers idly moved through the air. “Your so called ‘friends’ would be here by now if they actually wanted the likes of you back.”

Her chest seized at the words and she drew back like it had been a slap to the face. Those words mirrored her own inner thoughts. It hurt, to think that the Crystal Gems might still see her as a traitor. But…

“At least I have someone I can call a friend.” Peridot fired back, riled up at the notion. She refused to believe that they didn't care about her. “You’re nothing more than a rust bucket that is way overdue for the scrap yard.” Peridot spat, squashing her own insecurities. The green gem’s eyes flashed, “Era One Gems aren't needed anymore. My design-” Peridot held up her arm with a flourish, “-is much more efficient for Homeworld’s use. Isn't it sad? Even a 'synthetic' like me is more useful to the Diamonds than an old piece scrap. They don't even allow Era One gems the ability to be recycled; their minerals would only corrupt the others.”

“You don't know the meaning of the word corrupt.” The gem spat, closing the distance between them. Peridot made a move to move away but a hand roughly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. There was a rumbling of the walls and the floor but Peridot didn't heed the slight shaking as she was forcefully turned to face the dreaded gem. “Corrupt is something that the likes of you will never comprehend.”

The Era One Gem stood tall on its limb enhancers and a vicious glare gleaned out. It's larger form loomed over Peridot and the green gem shrunk back. “You know,” The veteran spoke, it's fist tightening around Peridot’s arm with a bruising grip. “The only reason I was going to keep the likes of you around was to watch as I tore the Crystal Gems to shreds. But now you've pissed me off!”

Her eyes blurred as a hard fist slammed down into her chest and sent her sprawling back. The floor was as punishing it was before. Every bruise and scrape cried out as she tumbled across the sleek metal and slumped against the floor next to the ruby.

A mixture of sweat and tears ran down her face. The hits were slowly accumulating and her body ached. A cold dread relaxation hit her as she turned back to look back at the Era One gem, electricity buzzed menacingly from its limb enhancer. Peridot’s hand shook as her own palm subconsciously found that of the ruby’s. They were both going to die, weren't they?!

The Era One gem bared its teeth, the action hadn't gone unnoticed. “Is that your friend? A pathetic little ruby?!” The Homeworld gem barked out a laugh and stepped forward. A foot kicked out and the ruby was harshly sent tumbling across the floor. “You really are pathetic!”

Snatched up, Peridot was pressed into the floor. She struggled against the overbearing hand and her eyes snapped to the crackle of electricity. Her eyes met the unwavering malice of the other and the destabilizer moved closer. The tip of it was just inches away from her gem. Her facet tingled with the close proximity and she became hyper aware of the aching crack in her gem. Tears pricked her eyes, the moment it touched- she would be nothing more than dust.

But at the last moment the destabilizer was pulled away. Peridot made a noise of disbelief and her she closed her eyes in relief. “After I'm done with you,” A low voice rasped in her ear, “I’ll kill your little friend and the rest of the pitiful Crystal Gems!”

She froze, kill the Crystal Gems?! Her friends flashed through her mind and a surge of energy ran through her. 

“No!” Peridot couldn't help but shout in horror. She wouldn't allow it! A deafening scream of electricity rang out and Peridot blindly twisted her body away with all her might. Her body tumbled across the floor and the destabilizer slammed into the floor. The metal vibrated with the punishing waves of electricity. Peridot lifted her head up in time to see chaos unfold. The electricity with no where to go, grounded itself in the only source it could, _the control system_.

The main frame exploded in a burst of light. The screen cracked and a high pitched alarm came out from over head. The wires turned red hot and pipes broke open as thick waves of hot steam blew into the room.

A loud buzz interrupted the ominous whistle of alarms and the door to the other room closed with a final bang. “Initiating Takeoff Procedures; set final course to-”

Relief filled Peridot and she couldn't help but give victorious grin. Her eyes closed for a small moment, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis, Steven…. They were all safe.

“What did you do?!” The Era One gem spat, turning back towards the console as hard sparks busted out from the exposed wiring and cracked console board. “What did you do?!” The pitch the other gem reached was terrifying in its own right but Peridot couldn't help but bark out a smug laugh at her handiwork. Her own tweaks to the system and the hard restart hadn't stopped the take off but instead, accelerated it.

Peridot jerked back and fell from the grip. She quickly scampered back from the bloody thirsty gem. “You lose.” The green gem spoke with a breathless laugh to her voice. “It doesn't matter what you do to me! You'll never be able to get to them now! You're too late-” Her laughs turned to sputtering coughs as a hand wrapped around her throat.

The destabilizer was once again lifted and the familiar buzz of electricity rang in her ears. Peridot teeth clenched and her muscles were tightened in expectation. The rage and anger in the other’s eyes made her teeth grit.

Her eyes closed for the seemingly last time and she took a small shaking breath to resolve herself. Peridot had no regrets, even in these final moments- the pride and the belief of the Crystal Gems ran through her. She was Peridot, just Peridot- there were no facets or cuts or anything else.

The buzz of electricity burned in her ears before the rumbling of the ship overtook even that. She could feel the turbines moving underneath her shaking feet. Her gem tingled with a dread anticipation and she could feel the punishing crackle of electricity come closer.

“You Crystal Gems disgust me.” The Homeworld gem spoke, her husky voice venomously echoing across the room, “You all talk about freedom and love but what good is it for? Nothing.” The Era One Gem took a small ragged breath, “You think you're all so special. Well you know what you really are?” The other leaned down real close and pulled Peridot’s attention to herself. “In the end, all you are is nothing more than a line of defected coding that is to be eradicated.” She sneered and tightened her grip, “No name, no facet- no purpose.”

Peridot's arms tensed as the destabilizer was pulled back from her gem once again. She jerked in an attempt to move but there was no give.

“Of course," The Homeworld gem spoke again, "If you give up information on the Crystal Gems- I _might_ be persuaded to let you have a fair trial back at Homeworld instead of being shattered right where you stand.”

Her mind focused in in the words and her eyes flashed. Her name… Her purpose… That wasn't an easy question anymore, but that was what life was supposed to be. Just like Earth, just like friendship and love- it was all complicated and confusing. You couldn't just define purpose in one statement, one word or thought. And maybe she didn't have one, not fully at least. But that didn't mean she didn't have a name.

Peridot tilted her head back to look up at the intimidating gem. “The ship is already going back to Homeworld genius,” She defiantly spat, “You’re pathetic if you think that this ‘last ditch’ effort to get me to betray my friends will go anywhere. There is nothing more that you can do to me that they won't already do when I get back to Homeworld-” Peridot would rather be shattered than betray the gems again. “-and I do have a name! My name is Peridot,” She spoke, “Peridot of Crystal Gems.” The veteran gave a biting growl and held up the crackling weapon.

“Wrong answer.”


	2. Chapter 2

There was a long moment of pause and then two before Peridot couldn't bear to keep her eyes closed any longer. The buzzing of electricity paused and Peridot gaped as the destabilizer mere centimeters from the crack in her facet. The Homeworld gem was not looking at her but at the door just behind her. She noticed the rumbling had gotten louder and louder until neither of the pair could ignore it.

Her gem seemed to be spared by the unexpected disruption and a loud drumming bang pierced the air. The metal frame of the ship shook so hard that both gems were sent skidding across the deck.

Alarm lights flickered overhead and Peridot lifted her head to look up at the ceiling in confusion. Those were most definitely not part of the take off procedures. The ship groaned underneath and the Era One gem quickly got to its feet. It seemed that the other didn't have any clue what was going on by the look on her face.

The other roughly released her grip on Peridot and shoved the Crystal Gem into the floor. "Don't move," The Homeworld gem spat before lifting the destabilizer up and away.

The floor rumbled and there was a deep seated whine that echoed through the whole ship. Her own heart went cold with dread, the ship wasn't taking off- they should've been launched into orbit by now. The Crystal Gems weren't safe!

Why isn't anything working!" The Era One slammed her fists into the controls, sending a large crack through the board and effectively ruining it.

Peridot lifted herself up to her feet and used the wall to steady her aching limbs. The Era One gem was distracted, her focus was on the sparking console- not that there was anything that could fix it. Peridot had really done a number on thing and had no doubts that it was nigh irreparable.

The only sound in the containment area was the high pitched whine of the smoking control system and the harsh curses being muttered out from the Era One. A faint sound caught her ear and Peridot turned. It grew louder and louder and she couldn't help but notice that it sounded distinctly like it was coming this way. Or that it sounded distinctly like hard footsteps against reinforced metal.

A small breath escaped her and she felt a nudge in the back of her mind. It was something faint, something low. And it dangerously felt like hope.

There was a loud crackle of the intercom and Peridot couldn't help but drop open in disbelief.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" The intercom made a high pitch squeal causing the gems in the hangar to wince. Peridot intently listened to the two indistinct voices talking rapidly.

Peridot's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly, _'Is that who I_ _think it is?'_

"No, no! I think you actually have to press-"

"-does all gem technology have so many different-"

"-yeah, all you gotta do is hit the button."

"-oh, it's already on?"

There was a long pause and a bit of crackling before the garbled voice came in much more clear, "This is your flight crew member Big Ame speaking!"

"With copilot Steven!" A new voice interrupted with a bright cheer to the young voice. There was a slight break it the pitch and Peridot could hear distinct rustling.

"Today's flight to the Homeworld place has been uh... _regrettably_ canceled due to some technical difficulties." There was a rough breakage in the pitch and Peridot could practically feel the pair grinning. "Sorry 'bout that boss lady gem ma'am. I'd fix it but it ain't my area of expertise-"

A laugh unwillingly bubbled up from Peridot. She had never been so thrilled to hear Amethyst and her big mouth. She tried to take a few steps but her own injuries and the shaking of the floor prevented her from moving much from the wall.

"Ohh! Hi Peridot! I can see you through the weird monitor thing! Is this how your ship was like when you first flew here?!" Steven enthusiastically asked. Peridot could hear the pressing of random buttons over the intercom and had no doubts that the two were messing around in there. "Woah! There are two Peridots?! That's freaky!" Steven continued, "I don't really like the look of the other one, Peridot. They don't look to be very nice-"

"Where in the name of the Diamond Authority did you two clowns come from?!" The Era One gem suddenly barked, seemingly coming out of a stupor. Walking forward, she stuck her limb enhancer into a section of the wall and a video feed appeared. It showed both Amethyst and Steven sitting in two separate wheelie chairs. They both had a hand interlocked around the intercom mic. A cold dread of fear washed through Peridot as the Era One's eyes flashed with something indecipherable.

"What do we have here? A runty Amethyst and-" She paused for a moment and scrutinized the screen. "I don't even know what clod of dirt you ruptured from." Her eyes slid over Amethyst and narrowed in on the design of Steven's shirt. "A star," She murmured.

Steven's face was pressed up against the screen. "Peridot! You're hurt!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening as he took note of her stature. "Don't worry! We're gonna get you right out! Garnet and Pearl should be-"

Amethyst opened her mouth and leaned down into the mic to say something but was immediately cut off by a hard fist the the side panel. The Homeworld gem's eyes narrowed and the feed was cut off for good. Electricity sparked from the smattering panel and Peridot took an edging step back

The ship tumbled again and Peridot herself fall to the floor. The veteran didn't even seemed phased that her ship was being destroyed from the inside out by Amethyst and Steven in the control system. In fact, she seemed almost thrilled, which made it all the more scary.

There was a screech of metal and the indistinct sound of fighting down the halls. Peridot breathed in and it seemed both the Era One and the Era Two gems had the same thought. Someone was coming.

The Era One gem bared its teeth and swiftly walked forward toward the door. Peridot made a noise of protest, "Don't you dare touch them-"

Her weak threats were silenced with a sharp kick to the stomach.

"Quiet! It's time for the real gems to play."

Peridot slowly let out an agonizing breath and pushed to her feet as her legs almost came out from under her. Her gem pulsed with every breath. And as much as she wanted to just retreat, the slowly widening cracks were too deep and there was no way to dissipate her form unless she wanted to be even more vulnerable than she already was.

A large, fist shaped dent appeared on the metal of the door and Peridot's ears rung with the sound. The green gem could do nothing but watch as the door burst open with another hard bang.

The pipes still streamed hot air so at first it was hard to see anything beyond the the thick haze of smoke lingering over the door. Peridot's eyes scanned the hangar. After an agonizing moment- two figures appeared in the smoke. As they came close, their figures were revealed.

Garnet came first, her gaze firm and a commanding aura arose from her. Peridot's own line of sight reflected back in the shades and she gave a shaky grin, "Hey Garnet." Peridot spoke, consequently splitting her the cut in her chin more. Her brusies seem to flare under the gaze and Peridot became distinctly aware of her tattered clothing and broken visor. She must've looked like a total stranger. "Mission didn't go as planned…"

Garnet's gaze rested on her for a long moment "I can see that." Garnet finally spoke, readjusting her shades as she stepped over the rubble. They exchanged a look but the gaze was interrupted by a flitting figure that appeared in the steam.

"Peridot?! Peridot!" Pearl spoke, jumping through the door with her spear raised. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Her bright blue eyes meet Peridot's and the green gem is taken back by the soft look of concern. Pearl's gaze raked up and down her figure and Peridot bit her lip as the intense gaze rested on her forehead- no doubt Pearl had already taken note of her cracked gem. Her cheeks burned a dark green and she sheepishly stared down at her toes in embarassment.

Pearl's nostrils flared and there was a flash of something dark as the lithe figure turned towards the Era One gem. "Garnet." Pearl lowly warned, her spear twirling in her grasp. "That's a-"

"I know Pearl. I know." Garnet spoke as something passed between them that Peridot couldn't read. The oldest members of the Crystal Gems squared up and Garnet took a menacing step forward. The Era One gem seemed delighted at the motion as she herself confidently strided forward. Her limb enhancers steamed and a long, deadly looking weapon was reformed.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." The gem spoke, her words coming out more like a hiss than anything else. Pearl and Garnet's eyes trained on the Homeworld gem. Peridot watched as Pearl immediately summoned another spear except this time- it had the triton addition on the end of this.

Peridot was surprised, she hadn't seen that brought out in a long time. Pearl never used it for training and Peridot only knew of it because she had heard all about the forge from Amethyst. But she had never ever seen them pulled out, let alone used. The green gem took one look at the faces of the two eldest of the Crystal gems, this was serious.

It seemed there was an unspoken start between the two sides because in one single explosive moment, all three gems charged each other.

The room was enveloped in a flurry of quick movement and loud gun fire. The Era One gem was expertly dodging both of the Crystal Gem's movement and countering them with a few quick moves of her own. It seemed that the limb enhancers were not just good for data streaming but had a whole lot of offensive fire power. Crackles of electricity pierced the air as high powered bullets trailed after Pearl.

Garnet quickly stepped in front and held her fists together like a shield, sending the bullets ricocheting off. Peridot herself shrieked at the sudden rain of bullets and curled in to try and block the onslaught from accidentally piercing her.

Pearl had jumped high in the air, using Garnet's back as a springboard and flipped before coming back down to the ground with a deadly speed. The Era One gem jumped back as Pearl's spear pierced the floor with a defeaning crack. She didn't have a chance to recuperate before blocking an onslaught of quick jabs and vicious blows. Pearl's spears were being twirled separately in each hand with the dexterity and grace of an expert combatant.

The veteran seemed to expect this as she met each attack easily. A bubble of electricity spiked out and Pearl flipped back to avoid the barrier between the two. Pearl panted slightly from her crouched position and gave Garnet a slight nod.

Peridot held her hurting arm to her chest and stumbled back a few steps in time to the shaking floors. She took in a small heaving breath and glanced between the two opposing sides. The tension in the air was thick and it made her leg tingle with the instinct to run.

But she was afraid, afraid to even really move a single step. As much as she hated it, hated her fear, she couldn't help but choke every time she caught a glance of the destabilizer still crackling in the other's limb enhancers. It would be so easy to just finish her off in this state. Peridot clenched her teeth. The Crystal Gems weren't scared of anything, yet here she was, quaking over the mere thought of the Era One gem. And despite everything she had told the Era One Peridot and herself, she was still just as afraid as she had always been.

Pearl flipped back through the air, her movements graceful as the were deadly. Her sharp gaze seemed to catch her eye and Peridot's antsy movements stopped. Her green eyes met the other's soft baby blue and she could see the look of concern on Pearl's face. The green gem had never been much good at hiding her emotions, especially when she was upset.

The younger gem resolved herself, _'Get a_ _grip, you're fine. You're a Crystal Gem.'_ Everything would be okay now, they could beat this gem! She just needed to get up and fight! Pushing her body up, Peridot trained her eyes onto the Era One gem. It was a peridot they were fighting! Who knew more about how to fight a peridot than Peridot herself!

It was true, she wasn't strong enough or quick enough to dodge the full frontal force of the other. But- the Era One peridot wasn't even paying attention to her. This was her opportunity for a sneak attack of sorts! She could get the advantage.

Peridot's eyes scanned the rubble that was scattered across the floor and her gaze came across an thick piece of metal piping that had been blasted from the ceiling. Her captor's back was turned, this was her chance! Pushing herself off the the wall, Peridot scampered over to the other pile of rubble. Lifting her eyes up, she ducked behind the pipe. It solid metal through and through. One hit with this would at least send the gem spinning for a moment long enough for Garnet to take them down.

The floor rumbled with Garnet's strength and bits of metal flew over her head as a gauntlet grazed the wall, just missing the Homeworld gem's head. The Era One gem jumped back and put an arm on her blaster to steady it. Peridot took a deep breath, ' _Now!'_

Jumping up, she focused her mind on the heavy pipe. Her gem glowed a soft green and she strained to lift it up in the air. Pain emulated from the cracks but Peridot paid no mind. She could do it! She was a Crystal Gem too! The pipe finally lifted up into the air, lazily rotating up high. The green gem grinned under the strain and directed her mind to her enemy.

"Here you go you clod!" Peridot shouted, bringing attention to herself before wildly heaving the large pipe towards the group. The moment she let it go, she realized in an instance that she had miscalculated her throw. The Homeworld gem, surprised at her sudden appearance instinctively ducked at the shout. The pipe sailed over her captor and instead clipped right into an unsuspecting Garnet. The fusion was quick and had her gauntlets up in a fraction of a second to block the pipe but the weight of it knocked her slightly off balance.

Peridot's eyes widened as Garnet stumbled back from the heavy pipe. It sent her slamming back into the wall with a hard grunt. Wasting no time, the Homeworld gem lunged. Peridot's mouth dropped in horror as the bladed destabilizer went for Garnet's chest. It seemed that the fusion was saved just in time by Pearl's triton. She expertly parried the blows from the destabilizer and sent the other spinning back.

She stiffened at her own folly and burned a dark green once again as both Pearl and Garnet leveled her with a look. Her own chest tightened with the embarrassing feeling of failure but even that was overtaken by a sharp pain in her head.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Peridot clutched her head and cried out in pain as her facet seemed to burn. It was because of this that she didn't even get to see the bullets coming straight for her.

"Peridot!"

The Era One Peridot sent a another wave of bullets but this time Garnet came forward and her fists slammed into the floor. A rippling shockwave through the reinforced metal and knocked not only the veteran but Peridot herself tumbling to the floor.

Bullets flew overhead and her own shriek was lost in the loud whine of the gun. The bright flash of light blinded her. It was in another moment that she felt her body go weightless as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.

Peridot kicked at the restrictive hold, "Let go of me you clod!" She spat, fighting her captor's hold. As her vision cleared, her fighting stopped as she realized that it was not her captor but in fact Pearl who was holding her.

She could make out Garnet's form in the fire fight and she felt herself being set down on the other side of the room behind a pile of rubble and debris near the cells. Pearl's gaze flashed with concern and stature loomed over Peridot's hurt form. She briefly flitted over the green gem, carefully tracing cuts and bruises with her eyes.

"I need you to stay here." Pearl spoke, her voice low but firm as her eyes peeled up over the console to make sure the other gem was still occupied. "Keep hidden and wait for my signal until you can leave."

' _Stay_ _here?'_ Peridot's mind worked a mile a minute despite the pain and she frowned. "But then what am I supposed to do to help?!" Peridot spoke, her voice cracking with a little bit of realization.

"You're not going to do anything but hide, you need to keep yourself safe!" Pearl's voice was tight with authority and her eyes hardened out of maternal concern and the seriousness of the situation. "And right now priority number one is getting you out of here with your gem intact!" Pearl's fingers gently ran over Peridot's facet and the green gem immediately flinched back from the touch.

Whatever Pearl saw in her face seemed to prove her point and Peridot scowled at the look. "But I want to help too-"

"Absolutely not! This is way beyond your training and not only as your teacher, but as your friend I don't condone it." Pearl's voice brooked no argument and Peridot found herself hard pressed to find anyway to argue her point. "Promise me that you're going to stay safe." Pearl spoke, her eyes flashing back to the heat of the battle before settling back on Peridot's injured form.

"Are you listening to me Peridot?" Pearl's voice was firm and Peridot squirmed under the intense look.

"I promise," She murmured miserably, her chin moving down to hit her chest. This wasn't fair at all, she was a Crystal Gem too!

Pearl's shoulders seemed to relax just slightly and she bent forward on one knee. "Thank you." Peridot felt a soft hand under her chin as something warm and soft pressed up against her forehead, just above her facet. She grimaced slightly at the touch as her cheeks grew warm.

Pearl disappeared from her view and her quickly put her hand up to wipe the skin where the older gem had kissed her forehead. Peridot scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. Her body ached with the action but the green gem didn't seem to care.

She hated that Pearl had to go and have her hide. She didn't want to hide. Peridot had spent so much time having others fight her battles for her. This was her mission and she didn't want to be sidelined.

Waiting a moment, Peridot pushed herself up and peeked her head over the console. A slight sliver of trepidation filled her as she watched the battle. She couldn't just jump back into the fight. Pearl was right in the fact that she was outmatched. Charging in would not only get herself hurt but then she'd get in trouble with Pearl and Garnet which would not be fun.

But she didn't need to fight head on to be of help! There had to be another way she could help. The sparking of the console caught her eye and Peridot's eyes widened in remembrance. She had forgotten about the download.

Looking past the pile of rubble, she made sure no one was watching her before sneaking past to the console. Scampering across the floor, Peridot dove behind the console just as another flurry of ricocheted bullets grazed past her head. With a gulp, the green gem slowly eased her way back to the panel.

What she discovered was a mess. Peridot shoved debris off the console and stared down at the fired circuitry in trepidation. Her heart sank as she caught sight of the smoking hole where her rewired recorder should've been. It seemed that along with the system, it had been fried as well. The screen was fuzzing out and Peridot could barely make out any of the numbers that were glitching on and off the broken screen.

Though despite the mess, something caught her eye. She choked back when she realized what she was looking at. It was the ruby! It's stocky stature and red gem gleaned out from its transposed position underneath the console. It seemed that when the ruby was blasted across the room, it went sliding underneath the console.

Peridot examined the downed gem and her face lit up. _'No way, it can't be…'_ But it _was_. Peeking out from underneath the gem's body was her recorder! It seemed that on it's way down, the ruby had hit the side of the console and sent the data chip skidding underneath the console. All that data wasn't lost at all!

The green gem giddily slid herself under the console. It was a tight fit but she could easily maneuver herself. She was designed for this kind of tech work so fitting underneath a console was child's play. Scooching herself close, Peridot put two hands on the chip and tugged. It wouldn't budge.

Her brows narrowed and her lip firmed. Bracing herself, Peridot stuck a foot against the ruby's body and began to pull once again. "Come one you stupid-" With a final hard tug, the chip came free and both the ruby and Peridot were pulled apart from each other. The green gem smiled down at her prize with a smug grin.

Everything was intact! This would be a perfect success to show the Crystal Gems that she hadn't completely failed. The image of the pipe slamming into Garnet and Pearl's hard look filled her mind's eye. This would make up for it! She'd prove to them that she, Peridot of the Crystal Gems was awesome at missions.

But as soon as she tried the move, a hand reached out and clasped around the chip. Peridot choked and turned. The ruby's eye snapped open and it's intense gaze zeroed in on Peridot.

The two stared at each other, Peridot's owlish eyes widened in alarm and the other's dazed in confusion. The green gem bit her lip and slowly began to pull the chip towards her. The ruby pulled back, much more gently in almost a confused manner.

Peridot frowned and tugged again and this time was met with a hard pull of resistance. "Gimme it!" Peridot spoke, pulling hard with a frown on her face.

The ruby shook it's head and met her own gaze with a childish scowl. "There is no way I'm letting some traitor have anything from Homeworld!" The ruby growled, yanking both the chip and peridot back. The green gem's head smacked up against the underside of the console and she let out a yelp.

"This is my recorder! Not Homeworld's!" Peridot indignantly spat, yanking hard to pull the chip more towards herself. "It's mine and you can't have it!"

"Oh yeah? Well it's gonna be mine now!" The one eyes gem yanked again and this the recorder went in their direction.

Peridot grit her teeth. "Let go! You don't even know what it is!"

"So? If you Crystal Gems want it then I want to make sure you can't have it! I'll never let you traitors have anything!"

With the final shriek, both gems pulled so hard that it went flying from both their grips. Spinning out from under the console, both gems glanced at the recorder and at each other before lunging for it.

"It's mine!"

"It's mine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems came! I couldn't just let Peridot die all alone. But it's not over yet! I still got a few ideas left.


	3. Chapter 3

If anyone had told her last week that she was going to be wrestling a violate ruby in the barrels of a eroding Homeworld ship, she would've told them they were crazy.

But of course, last week she hadn't been planning on actually going on her own mission, let alone being kidnapped by an enemy gem after the whole thing had crumbled out from under her.

"Give it to me!"

Both gems had lunged for the chip and in their wrestling had sent it skidding under another pile of rubble. Peridot was faster but the ruby was stronger. Each time she reached for the chip, a pudgy red hand would snap forward and drag her back by her legs. What was hard was that she was already injured enough as it was and the rough housing wasn't exactly helping matters.

"You clod! You couldn't begin to understand how to use it anyways!" Peridot widely kicked at the gem. The other went stumbling back and toppled over. She didn't have time to laugh at the red gem's ridiculous position on the floor before she herself went tumbling backwards on piece of raised metal from the floor.

The floor rumbled with Garnet's powerful gauntlets. Her own gaze snapped to the battle going on between the three gems. Debris and stray bullets flew in the air. That was trouble enough to maneuver around without Steven and Amethyst making an absolute mess of things. Twice the anti gravity levels had been destabilized and everyone had been sent flying into the air. Peridot just knew to had to be them.

The ruby growled and a bright red grow illuminated from behind. Peridot didn't pay any mind as she went racing across the deck for the small chip. Scooping it up into her hand, Peridot held it high, "Ha! I got it-"

_Whoosh!_

There was movement out of the corner of her eye and Peridot barely held back a shriek as a knife of all things swiped at her form. The red gem had a snarl on its face, their gem gleaned in the emergency lights that were pulsing. The wire that had been entangling the ruby's legs was slashed open.

"No more playing around! Give me the chip!" The red gem growled, holding the weapon up high.

Peridot ducked under another swipe, "Ha! Missed me you clod!" Her voice strained with the pitch but it seemed that no one besides the ruby even noticed her words. They were lost in the white noise of the battle raging around them.

Gripping the warped metal, Peridot raced away from the ruby. Around and around they went, circling the console. She made figure eights around the ruby and anything obstacles that would distance herself from the gem chasing her. It didn't take more than a few laps before Peridot was starting to tire. The red gem's persistence was starting to not only annoy her further but create a small crevice of fear inside her.

The ruby wasn't very big and paled in comparison to the Era One gem, but the fact was that Peridot herself was just as small as the ruby. And it wasn't like she could summon a razor sharp knife to fight back with. Her gem ached with the thought and Peridot was doubtful she could pick up another one of those pipes again.

But Peridot wasn't outmatched, not even slightly. Her fists clenched around the metal. What she lacked in brawn was easily made up for in brain. She could outsmart this ruby just like they had the time before.

Steven was the one who had figured an easy and relatively peaceful solution the first time. The second time was just as easy with Amethyst's poor imitation of Jasper. The most damage done in both times was the sickly sight of two blue and red gems making kissy faces at each other. The amount of sweetness the pair displayed was nauseating.

The best thing right now would to be to try one of Steven's tactics. They were surprisingly sufficient for handling situations despite appearing extremely abnormal at first. Peridot took a heaving breath and glanced behind her before letting out a slight shriek. The red gem was still bounding towards her with a fury of a battle worn gem.

 _'I_ _don't think diplomacy is gonna work this time.'_ Peridot deeply inhaled through her nose. Trying was better than nothing. "Can't we just talk about this?" Peridot called back. Her legs were trembling with an onset exhaustion. "How about if I leave you alone, you leave me alone? That seems to be the obvious solution right now!"

"Talk?! No! I'm done talking with the likes of you! There isn't talking in battle- only fighting! Come back here and face me like a true gem, coward!"

Peridot squawked, "I'm the coward?!" She screeched, rolling away from charging ruby, "I'm trying to help you, you clod! I released you from your cell and everything! The least you could say was thank you!"

"I didn't ask for your help!" The ruby spat between clenched teeth, "I don't want _anything_ to do with you Crystal Gems!"

Peridot's green eyes flashed over to the other two of her teammates. It seemed that both sides were holding their own.

Garnet's face was stern. She stood imposing over the scene and each move was devastating in its own right. Ridges were gashed from the walls and the deck as her powerful gauntlets eroded at the floor of the ship.

Pearl's muscles were taut and each move was precise and without a wasted motion. Again and again the two Crystal Gems worked as a tag team to fight against the Homeworld gem.

She could see that the Era One gem had a few gashes from her limb enhancers and her pristine uniform was ripped and frayed from the fighting. It gave Peridot a sense of vindictive pride that the other gem was getting beaten down like she had earlier.

High powered energy blasts came bursting out and filled the room with an ear splitting crack. Garnet and Pearl scattered as the bullets missed their marks and phased into the air with a sizzling pop. She could see low cut words being exchanged between the gems but couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.

Peridot didn't have a chance to finish watching the battle sequence before she could feels the Ruby's footsteps kicking at the back of her own heels. Peridot raced once again behind the console just out of sight.

She'd tried Steven's way(barely) and that was a bust. Not that Peridot wasn't exactly broken hearted over it, she was never one to really 'play nice' anyways. And that was something that most of the Crystal Gems could agree on, all you had to do was ask Lapis.

Skidding to a halt, the green gem pressed herself up against the side panel and stuck her foot out.

"Hey!"

This was a move that Amethyst had done time and time again. A pair of stubby ankles hit her outstretched foot. And just like that, the ruby went tumbling across the floor. She couldn't help but bark out a laugh at the comical scene of the gem skidding face first across the grimy deck. Peridot hoped that Amethyst saw it through the monitor.

The knife went clamoring out from the gem's grip and clattered harshly against the deck. It only took one or two hits before the weapon shattered into fractals of intense light and dissipated from sight.

"That's cheating! You're trying to trick me again!" The one eyed gem bellowed, pushing up from it's elbows. "Why I outta-"

Peridot childishly stuck out her tongue. _'Maybe I can coax the Homeworld clod to go into a cell?'_ Peridot impishly thought, her eyes narrowing towards the hangar door. She truly didn't want to hurt the red gem. Peridot still had some hard feelings and had no desires whatsoever to really go out of her way to help the knife-happy gem. But on the other hand, she didn't want the ruby to be out at the mercy of Homeworld.

Peridot held the chip close and peered down at the ruby sprawled down on the floor. The gem was so angry, so bitter and yet still so loyal towards a Diamond that had basically condemned them to death. An ache ran through her at the thought and Peridot shivered before brushing a finger across the edge of her gem.

"Why do you care?" Peridot announced bluntly, scampering back from the explosive gem with a screech. "Why do you still fight for Homeworld? What have they ever done for you? You and I are the same, you know! Don't act like you're any better than me!"

"We're not the same! Are you stupid?!" The Ruby rose up on its haunches and gave a chilling glare. "I'm loyal to my Diamond! I fight because that's what I was made to do!"

"But you don't have to." Peridot spoke, her breath pausing for a scant moment. Her words hung in the air and the green gem couldn't help but think about her own experiences. "Technician gems, soldiers, servant gems," Peridot clenched her fists, "-anyone who wasn't made to be elite was made to be used and thrown away." She spoke, unintentionally echoing the Era One's earlier words. Peridot circled around the room and slowly came to brief halt in front of the cells. Her foot crunched up against the broken panels. "But I don't believe that, I can't just believe that I'm just another worthless peridot that is nothing more than a tool to further Homeworld." Peridot rose her head up, "I don't believe you are just another tool for Homeworld." The chip shook slightly in the palm of her hand and Peridot spun her head around at the sound of Garnet smashing through another group of panels. "I've seen earth for what it is! I've seen what life can be like!" Peridot's voice cracked in pitch but she paid no mind, her voice got louder with each sentence. "What's the point of letting yourself be shattered for some cloddy diamond that doesn't even care about you." Peridot's eyes met the ruby's and she barely held herself back from shrinking away from the intense gaze. "We can save your friends!" Peridot rushed out, her mind racing as an idea seemed to click.

That seemed to catch the ruby's attention. The gem's shoulders went ramrod straight and a pair intense eyes bulged with the words. She could see the anger freeze the gem in their tracks and Peridot held her breath. She had the other's full attention.

"If you help me, help us-" Peridot nodded her head over to the Crystal Gems, her words coming out quickly with clarity. "-we can find those other rubies. I'm sure with our expertise on the matter of finding gems, we'll be able to locate them in no time." Peridot couldn't help but straighten out the remains of her tattered uniform with a distinct arrogant pride. Finding gems, corrupted or uncorrupted were their(mostly Garnet's) skill. She no doubt would be able to track them down no problem, they were only rubies after all.

Peridot watched carefully as the other gem's eyes glazed over and her aggressive stance seemed to freeze in place. She pursed her lips in anticipation and a thick cloud of tension descended on the both of them as the seconds ticked by. The ruby physically clutched their head seeming at an impossible dilemma.

Peridot let out a small breath of relief. Even if the ruby didn't want to join them, it was conflicted enough to where Peridot had disrupted the gem from it's warpath. The ruby probably wouldn't even be able to think the whole thing through until after the battle was all over. It took a little while for rubies to think about anything complicated.

But even so, Peridot wasn't going to take a chance.

With the ruby distracted, Peridot picked up a hard metal bar that had fallen off the siding of the console. With a quiet breath, she lifted it high in the air. The metal bar cracked against the back of the gem's legs, sending the ruby flying forward. With the momentum, Peridot pushed the ruby into the cell and switched the barriers back on.

"Hey! You tricked me!" The ruby roared, slamming its fists against the door. A jolt of high energized electricity ran through the ruby. With a quiet scream, the red gem fell forward on it's side. Peridot felt a pang of guilt but shoved it to the back of her mind.

"I didn't trick you." Peridot reiterated, crouching down to be eye level with the gem that was staring at her with a hurt, furious look of betrayal. "I'm going to help you but first we-" Peridot gestured to herself and the other Crystal Gems, "-have to beat the Era One Gem… And I don't trust you, not after what you did to Steven." She gave a hard glare in the other's direction before standing up. Clutching the recorder in her hand, she gave the red gem a nod, "I said I'll help you escape and that's what I'm going to do."

The ruby gazed at her with a furious expression, "No! I don't trust anything you rebel scum have to say! You're nothing but a traitor! And I already told you, I don't _want_ your help! I'll shatter you!" With a final battle cry a red glow appeared from her gem and a sharp knife slammed against the yellow particle barrier. Another punishing jolt of electricity coursed through the ruby's body before the gem fell face down against the floor of her cell. But this time, the ruby didn't get up. Peridot's sighed in annoyance before turning her back on lifeless form sprawled against the floor.

This is what she got for trying to be nice.

The battle was still going on between the other group. She still wasn't sure why it wasn't over yet. Pearl and Garnet were clearly the superior gems in skill and number. She scrambled out of the way as another set of ricocheted bullets came flying by her. Her injured back slammed against the cold bars of the vacant and she hissed.

"Come on! Aren't you finished with it already?!" Peridot couldn't help but yell out, her eyes narrowing in on the group. "That rust bucket isn't a match for you!" With hands on her hips she turned. Her eyes raked across the battered gem and she couldn't help but belt out a haughty laugh. "You might as well give up you Era One clod!" She catcalled in her own smugness, Peridot felt a rising feeling of fervent self-righteousness made her face split wide with a cheeky grin. She preened as three pairs of eyes whipped towards her, "You can't win, we've got you totally beat!" Peridot boasted, dramatically pointing towards the Homeworld gem. Her hand rose and she couldn't help but show off the chip she had acquired. "You see this?!" Peridot held it high in the air, "I, the clearly superior gem, snuck this under your own console, right under your nose! Simply genius, am I right?!" Peridot snickered, "And there is nothing you can do about it!

Her grin faltered as her gaze bounced between the gazes on her. Garnet's lip seemed to firm and Peridot visibly took a step back as Pearl's face went pale before going a deep shade of red. _'Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be hiding…'_ She gulped at the severe look on Pearl's face and Peridot could almost hear the lecture that was just brimming under those bony, tense shoulders.

Garnet and Pearl's disapproval was nothing in comparison to the Era One gem. Her limb enhancers seemed to click with every second and her head turned an unnatural degree until a beady set of radioactive eyes landed on her. A semblance of a grin slashed across her face and her mouth twisted with something bitter. "Is that so? Well, I suppose I'll just have to take it!"

The only thing that stopped Peridot's neck from being sliced open was Garnet's quick reflexes. Pearl let out a cry as she was suddenly hit in the back with a blast, having been distracted by Peridot. Garnet's heavily armored fist slammed into an bladed extension of the limb enhancer that had come spinning towards Peridot. In her own surprise, Peridot stumbled over a metal pipe and landed hard against the floor with a crack.

Steam churned in the air and a cloud began to form along the ceiling. From her position on the floor, she could see the two figures going at each other. Pearl quickly pushed herself up from her sprawled position and raced towards Garnet who was grappling with the other. But it seemed this time that the Era One had gotten the upper hand.

With dexterity that she hadn't been previously displayed, the Homeworld gem dodged Pearl's spear once again and turned on pair. Her limb enhancer extended and swept right low into Garnet's legs, catching her off guard.

Pearl didn't even have a chance to react as she was bodily lifted up and slammed up through the ceiling, leaving a gaping hole in her wake. Peridot yelped as large debris of pipes and other metal chunks rained down over the room in a plume of hot, chalky steam.

Peridot gasped, "Garnet!" The fusion's body was pinned under a larger pipe, her body was almost completely covered by the debris. She could see the hot metal searing into Garnet's arms as her gauntlets dissipated in a flash of light.

"Garnet! Stay right there, I'll get you out of there!" Falling over herself, Peridot scampered over but the loud whine of a gun made her freeze in her tracks. Her eyes went wide and she locked onto the barrel of the weapon trained on her. _'I'm_ _going to die here- oh my stars I'm actually going to-'_

"Peridot! Run!"

Garnet's command came out loud and hard, jolting the younger gem to action. Turning her head, she yelped and threw herself to the side. Peridot felt another set of bullets whizz by her head. She didn't make it far before a hand gripped the back of her uniform and she was once again hoisted high in the air.

"My my how the tables have turned ." A smoky voice hissed into her ear, Peridot cringed away from the menacing spittle but a hard yank of a hand kept her in place.

"Peridot, no!" There was a loud shift in rubble as Garnet hefted the heavy debris off of her body. Her arms smoked from the heat and her figure trembled with fury.

Garnet took a step forward just as a thick arm wrapped around Peridot's neck, making her already shaking breaths restricted and shallow. In the same moment the ceiling shook and Pearl dropped down from the previously made hole. Her arms and face were scratched from metal and her breath came out in sharp pants. Pearl's eyes widened in shock and fury and went running towards the Era One Gem, her spear low and deadly.

"Not so fast." The Homeworld Gem purred. Peridot choked as she felt the hot tip of a smoking destabilized weigh heavily against her back. "Homeworld never specified that I had to bring back anyone alive."

"Why you!" Pearl's teeth clenched and Garnet struck out an arm and wrapped it around Pearl's midsection to hold her back.

Peridot's face went red from the force and both her hands reached up to claw at the offensive hands. The Era One Gem glanced briefly down at Peridot's movement and grinned at the sight. "And what's this?!"

In Peridot's left hand was the recorder that she had so desperately fought for.

"No! That's mine!" Peridot made a noise of protest but didn't have the strength to hold on as the recorder was pried easily from her hands. It floated away from her and was held up by a small field of telekinesis in front of the both of them. In a fit of anger, Peridot headbutted back into the gem, "Give it back you cloddy, good for nothing-" A rough jolt from the destabilizer seized through Peridot's body and she cried out.

Both Pearl and Garnet surged forward at Peridot's distress but the cooling tip of the destabilizer was set heavily against Peridot's temple, right near her gem.

"Ah, ah, ah~" She could almost feeling the smugness on the Homeworld gem's face. The Era One Gem looked between Peridot and the other two gems. "Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt would we?"

There was a tense moment of silence and Peridot could feel the Era One Gem shaking in mirth. It started out as snickers but soon a devastating laugh echoed across the deck. Peridot's took a shaking breath and shut her eyes for a brief moment to try and desperately calm her pounding heart. She could feel her limbs almost shaking with trepidation.

She could feel a wash of fear creep up her limbs. The destabilizer fell heavily against her back and every breath restricted more and more as the arm around her neck coiled tighter.

"It's been a long time, a long lonely time hasn't it? A barking laugh interrupted the beginnings of a familiar monologue. "Considering it wasn't just 'enemies' who were shattered during the war…"

The deep chuckle vibrated off the walls and Pearl and Garnet couldn't help but stare at the other gem. Peridot wasn't sure what was meant by that statement but if Pearl's seething glare with the flash of Garnet's shades, then it wasn't anything nice.

"Put her down." Garnet spoke, her voice low yet powerful, "This has nothing to do with-"

"Oh but it has everything to do with this little synthetic. She's a Crystal Gem right?" The arm around her jugular violently yanked up. Peridot's wildly kicked her legs in an attempt to knock herself loose and she choked. "The shard said it herself," The Homeworld gem was unfazed at Peridot's struggles and scraped a pointed weapon against the green gem's chest right. The sharp edge skittered down Peridot's neck until it settled right where the faded Diamond Authority symbol was. "In fact…"

Peridot couldn't see but she gasped as there was a sharp weight of pressure on her chest. There was a loud ripping of material before a small burst of cold air hit her chest. Peridot's eyes bulged and she let out an indignant shriek of surprise and fear.

"I suppose this shouldn't be here, should it!" The Era One Gem hissed, tossing the material at the feet of the pair of gems. Garnet was immovable at the motion. But Pearl was visibly agitated, she looked down at the discarded material with an expression of tight concern.

Peridot's face was starting to go blue and her arms slacked with exhaustion at her efforts to throw off the choke hold. Her positioning was readjusted and Garnet's figure was swimming in her vision. She could see that Garnet's lips were moving but for the life of her, it just didn't seem that her ears were working.

She watched as Pearl shook off Garnet's hold on her and vehemently spat something back towards Garnet and then faced back towards the Era One Gem. Though as much as Peridot tried, it seemed the the ringing in her ears was muting Pearl out. Peridot lazily followed Garnet's form- well more like Garnet's hair. Her hair was completely put together, each side of the cube like hair was fixed into perfect geometric sides that Peridot could appreciate. It seemed to stand still despite the fighting, hot steam and the literal pipe that had dropped right on top of it. Peridot couldn't help but wonder if the fusion's hair had always been so square. Even in the heat of battle it kept shape. Which she wasn't sure of it was a testament of the strength of her fighting skills or hair skills.

"-for stars sake! Let her go!" Pearl shrieked, surging forward despite the weapon that met her step by step. "She's not breathing!"

Peridot slowly blinked until her eyes went wide in realization. The ringing had gotten louder and louder to the point where it was almost unbearable. Her lungs were beginning to burn more than ever before. An identifiable noise escaped from her and she began to wildly kick.

The Era One Gem finally seemed to catch on. Looking down at the thrashing gem, she frowned at Peridot's expression before her gears seemed to finally click in realization. "This is pathetic!" She barked, pinching a bit of Peridot's bluing cheeks before giving it a few small slaps. "You've gone native haven't you greenie?" She sneered at Garnet and Pearl and pointed dismissively at Peridot's struggling. "Is this what you teach your new recruits?"

Finally after what seemed to be forever, Peridot was harshly dumped to the floor. With a gasping breath, she violently coughed. Her body shuddered with the movement. The Era One Gem looked down on her with disgust before striding past to the other side of the room.

Peridot felt as shadow over her and she looked up right as Pearl dropped down to her knees right next to her. Garnet wasn't far behind has the fusion bent down next to the both of them.

"-override sequence E-29793, Code: Stratus."

A red light flickered overhead and Peridot looked up from her position on the floor to the Era One Gem across the room. Her limb enhancer was attached into the wall and streams of translucent data surrounded the gem in thick clouds of green. In a burst of metal and whirling code, the wall began to shift.

Scattered at seemingly random points around the room, part of the walls pushed in and out and shifted left and right like piece of a large puzzle. In one collective motion, holes appeared and numerous amounts small drones began to pour into the room.

Peridot watched with bated breath as the bots surrounded the three of them. Gauntlets appeared on Garnet's wrists but before she could move, a destabilizer was trained back on them.

"Don't even think about it war machine." The Homeworld Gem spoke, not bothering to look at them as her eyes poured over manuscripts of data. "Move and your new recruit gets it."

The split second of hesitation on Garnet's part was the all the Era One Gem needed. Already the drones covered the room from head to toe. They were piling up on top of each other, crawling over the floor; walls, in and out of broken machinery and through the pieces of rubble. Their scurrying could be heard echoing through the vents above them. With a small signaling whirl of a limb enhancer, the drones overtook the three of them. Garnet was lost in the stampede with Pearl right behind her.

Peridot miserably looked around at her teammates faces as she herself began to disappear in the mass of machinery. She curled her fingers in and another sharp pain spiked through her gem. Peridot grit her teeth and turned her face away from the scene, unable to watch as she once again couldn't do a thing. _'This is my fault.'_

 


	4. Chapter 4

_'This is my fault.'_ The bitter thought seemed to ache through Peridot's core as she turned her head to look at her two teammates.

The other two were stuck in the only working containment field- and working was an overstatement. The energy levels fluctuated constantly, sputtering down to a weak shield or sizzling to a wall of crackling energy that looked as if it was going to jump out at the next gem that came near it.

Pearl and Garnet's forms looked almost fuzzy behind it. Garnet was seated on the floor with her usual impassive demeanor, seemingly unfazed by all that had occurred. It was a little strange to see Garnet so unmoved by everything, but Peridot supposed that she had only really seen Sapphire and Ruby separately trapped. The green gem was a little confused on why the Homeworld gem hadn't forced Garnet to seperate, but she wasn't going to complain that much.

Sapphire had a beautiful humming voice but the prospect of listening to it hours on end left much to be desired, especially if Ruby's angry shrieks would be accompanying it. And it wasn't like there would be a cell to separate them. There was only one working one after all. Peridot felt a little better that Garnet was still here- but not by much.

Pearl though, was easily the embodiment of all their worry. With quick steps, she paced back and forth across the small area. The crease in her brow only grew more and more indented with each passing moment. She stopped for a few moments here and there and a hand would reach out to trace the outer part of the containment field right before she had to pull back as the energy nipped at the ends of her fingers.

Peridot herself wasn't behind a containment field, she was separated from the other two. The Era One Gem didn't want to take any chances with her breaking out of another cell, not that Peridot actually thought she could pull that off again, but she was chained to the wall about twenty feet away from the containment field.

It was degrading when the Era One Gem had strung her up on the wall by the back of her uniform and welded her hands and feet with a few pieces of thick metal before dropping her like a sack of last weeks' garbage. Her arms and legs were stuck under the thick, heavy cuffs. The chain extended a small distance from the wall and was attached by other patch of melted metal that was still red hot. The 'chain' had actually been a grouping of thick electrical wires that had been bundled together and then wrapped with thin sheets of metal that had broken off the hull. The whole thing was crudely done yet it was clearly effective, exactly like the Era One Gem herself.

It only took a few minutes of assessing that she just didn't have the strength to break out of them. So Peridot sunk down against the wall, jerking her wrists and an attempt to keep the chaffing metal from biting into her wrists.

Back and forth, back and forth went Pearl's footsteps. There was skittering of spiny, metallic claws through the air ducts. The Era One Gem was in the other room, going through broken machinery and other rubble to try and get the ship up to some sort of running capacity.

Peridot tried to take solace in the fact that she knew for a fact that it would take some sort of miracle to get this thing running. But she just couldn't even find the attempt to laugh at the idea that the central E7 hyper-jump systeming was totally inverted. It didn't matter if they couldn't leave orbit, they were still trapped.

Peridot winced at the sharp stinging pain that pulsed through her gem. She wasn't exactly sure in what shape she was in, but if the fleeting looks Pearl kept giving her was any indication, then it wasn't good. She could feel her bruised throat close in at the thought and she hung her head. What a disaster this was.

There was a loud bang and a sharp hiss that echoed from the other room. Peridot could hear metal ring along with a variety of colorful curses. Pearl paused in her pacing and her whole body went tense with malice. All three of the prisoners turned to look as a shadow enveloped the doorway as the arguing became louder and louder.

"-by the Diamonds! I didn't realize that-"

"Just shut up you incompetent shard!" The Era One Gem roared, her bad limb enhancer smoking as the gem marched through the bay with the one eyed ruby right on her superior's heels. "This ship is nothing more than a broken hull of rusted parts."

Peridot couldn't help but look around at that. The ship seemed to groan under the weight of every footstep. Hot steam leaked and boiling water dropped from various places, creating a chorus of hissing vapor to accompany everyone's misery. And everyone did seem miserable. The only one in the room who seems slightly okay was Garnet but even then, Peridot could never really tell with her.

Holes littered the ship like Swiss cheese and that was just from the battle. Peridot wasn't even sure the extent of the damage Pearl and Garnet had done to the ship to get into the bay, let alone what Steven and Amethyst had done to the control room-

Peridot's eyes went wide and her train of thought seemed to freeze. Her head whipped back to the cracked monitor and she desperately wished that it would turn on so she could see if they were okay. She glanced back down to Pearl and Garnet and tried to calm down her nerves.

She had completely forgotten about Steven and Amethyst. Hopefully the Era One Gem had forgotten about them as well. Peridot just wanted those two off the ship so they could escape without being noticed.

"-up to the control room. Maybe it just needs to be fixed directly?" The ruby finished, looking up at her superior in a way that made Peridot wanna throw up. It was like a kicked puppy that still followed it's master. She really wanted to wish that she had never looked at any gem like that when she was on Homeworld but Peridot had no doubts that she had done the exact same thing. But when the words hit her ears, Peridot's body tensed. The Era One Gem couldn't go up to the control room. Not if Steven and Amethyst were still there!

It seemed that Pearl and Peridot had the same thought. When their gazes met, Pearl's eyes flashed a look of horror that dripped in heated anger and concern for them. The message was clear: if Steven was found by the Era One gem…

Peridot sucked in a breath. This was her fault. It was her fault that Pearl and Garnet were now stuck in a containment cell. Her fault that Garnet and Pearl had been taken off guard and captured. Her fault she couldn't complete her mission, she should've escaped in the first place. And now it would be her fault that Amethyst and Steven got caught. Because of _her_.

The same words echoed through Peridot's mind and she pulled against the chains. She had to do something about it. She couldn't let Steven and Amethyst get caught. She had to try something.

"Oh, so now you have to go all the way up to the control room?" Peridot loudly spoke, trying to tame her trembling voice to nonchalance. "I guess you're not as good as I thought. My bad, though I can't say I'm surprised."

Both Garnet and Pearl had startled at the sound of her voice. Though Peridot herself seemed to be the most surprised out of all. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but the words kept coming, fast and unrelenting. "Is this what you do all day?" Peridot dramatically yawned, "Sit around in leaky ships while you bicker with a ruby over your own incompetence?"

Two heads had whipped around and Pearl was staring at her with a look of confusion before her eyes narrowed. Peridot knew she probably looked stupid, she felt stupid- bating the gem when she had no way to defend herself. But if she knew anything about peridots- and she did know a surprising amount(shocker there), a fact that she would gladly share with Garnet and Pearl once they were out of here, was that peridots prided themselves in what they could do. So the only possible way to deter the other would be to hit the most sensitive spot possible: pride.

"I thought your limb enhancers gave you remote control of the main frame, but if you don't know how to work them, I wouldn't begrudge you for it." Peridot's voice echoed across the deck with more strength than she thought possible to muster. The more she spoke, the more confidence she got. And the more she spoke, the more worried the other two Crystal Gems got. Garnet was standing now, her arms crossed but her gaze like lighting under her glasses. Peridot shook off Pearl's and Garnet's stares, "The limb enhancers were made for Era Two gems after all." Peridot catcalled, holding a bruised hand up to cup her mouth. "Not for rusty old clods like you!"

That seemed to do it. The Era One gem stopped dead in her tracks, catching the ruby by surprise. The red gem slammed into the back of the taller gem's legs and went stumbling back. Peridot couldn't help but shrink down a bit at the other gem's stare. It was cold, calculated and there was nothing but anger. Spinning on a heel, the Era One Gem changed directions and strided past the containment cell towards Peridot.

Pearl, watching this unfold, came right up next to the containment field, close to the Era One gem. "Don't you dare touch her!" She snarled, banging a fist against the side of the cell. "I swear if you so much as-"

"Shut it, Renegade." The Homeworld gem flatly spoke, slamming a fist into the side of the cell. A jolt of energy came flying out of the containment field and slammed into Pearl. She hissed in pain and fell back into Garnet who was ready to catch her.

Peridot jerked against the chains as a large shadow loomed overhead. A quick hand snatched the end of her chains and lifted her up. Peridot whimpered as the sharp cuffs cut into her skin. She bit her lip as she began to swing back and forth under the scrutiny of her captor.

"Don't worry, synthetic." The Era One gem grinned, her smile looking more like a predator bearing it's teeth. "I won't be gone long, it'll only take one trip to fix the few wires that your little rebel teammates messed up." Peridot froze and her panic was carefully noted with glee. "I didn't forget about them. It'll only take a little poking around to find your friends. After all, I have eyes _everywhere_."

Peridot could hear the scuttling of spiny, little robots scattered across the ship and she shuttered. Peridot was roughly dropped to the floor and she grunted as air hit her open wounds. "You'll never be able to catch Amethyst and Steven!" Peridot spat, glaring up. "They're way smarter than a stupid, broken rust bucket. Your robots will never be able to get them."

The Era One gem sneered, "I may not know what a Steven is, but when I find them and I will find them, I'll grab them by the gem and-"

BANG!

Peridot jumped as a fist slammed past her head, creating a small dent in the metal beside her head.

"-I'll crush them into dust!" The Homeworld Gem roared, causing Peridot and the ruby standing idly behind the both of them to flinch. With a satisfied smirk, the gem turned. "Now I got the hyperlink decoder, the central systeming aligning, repair drones online…" The gem muttered to herself, lines of code swirling in the air, "But I think I'm forgetting something… Oh!" A finger snapped and the Era One gem gave a Cheshire like grin to Pearl and Garnet. "There was one thing I was _forgetting_!"

Spinning around, the Homeworld gem turned and kicked Peridot as hard as she could in the face. The green gem hadn't expected it and went flying back and would've been sent soaring across the floor if it weren't for the chains. The cuffs strained and sent the green gem rebounding back like the ball on a ping-pong paddle. Peridot's cracked visor shattered completely, sending the pieces clattering across the the deck.

"Peridot!" Garnet yelled, pushing up against the barrier. Electricity crackled around her gaunlets and the light illuminated the worry that was etched on her face.

"NO!" Pearl shrieked, covering her mouth in gaping horror as Garnet slammed up against the barrier. The cell rumbled against the weight and the two watched as the smaller gem slammed against the wall before falling face down against the floor, unmoving.

A limb enhancer whirled and a gun was leveled. "Stop right there." The Era One Gem spoke, her voice devoid of emotion as she turned to give Garnet and Pearl a glance. "Touch that barrier again and I'll shoot."

Pearl snarled, "Go ahead! Shooting at us will be the last thing you ever do!" She threw her hands up and a spear summoned from her forehead. She was ready for the gunfire, it would take down the containment field and then she would run her triton right though-

"Oh? I won't shoot you." The gem preened as she reangled her arm. "I'll shoot her." Both of the Crystal Gems gazed in anger and frustration and the weapon was leveled at Peridot. The green gem still wasn't moving and it was clear that one more hit could easily shatter her gem beyond repair- if she hadn't already been put into that state by now...

"Pearl." Garnet spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You need to lower your spear, there will be other chances." The barrier was wavering, it was the thinnest it had been since they had both been stuck in there. Pearl was sure she could break through it with one slash.

"Listen to the war machine." The Era One gem preened, sliding her eyes over the pair with a condescending look. "That's what pearls are meant to do, take orders. So be a good pearl and heel."

Pearl's eyes went wide with fury and her knuckles went white under the furious grip she had on her triton.

"Pearl." This time; Garnet's hand seized Pearl's shoulder, "Drop it. It won't end well." The weapon began to whine with the familiar sound of a recharge and Pearl finally allowed her spear to dissipate in a quiet flash of light.

The Homeworld gem gave Garnet a smug look. "You better keep a better leash on your pet. Though," She lifted a hand and her shoulders shook in laughter, "I suppose you're more of a mongrel than the Renegade is." She didn't bother to acknowledge Garnet's glare. "Ruby!" The Era One gem barked, turning her back on her handiwork to face her 'assistant'

"Yes ma'am!" The ruby reflexively spoke, running to get into position, "I mean what can I do for you my-"

"Stay here and keep watch over the prisoners while I deal with the other problem up in the control centre." The Era One gem commanded, giving a pointed glare at the cracked monitor, "It shouldn't take too long."

She strided forward and ruby saluted her superior, "Yes ma'am! I'll keep a sharp eye on the prisoners. You can count on me!"

The war veteran gave her a look, "Just don't let them out and don't talk to them." She leveled the ruby with a glare. "You're still on probation for messing up the first two times and it's clear that you can't think for yourself so- Read. My. Lips." She alliterated, catching the ruby's full attention. "If you talk to them, I'll immediately demote you so you'll never ever get reinstated back in the Triquetra. If you get in five feets length from them without sufficient reasoning then I'll detain you and have you sent to be retrained. If you _let them out_ ," Her voice went low and sent a shiver down the red gem's back. "If you let them out then I'll brand you as a traitor, and grind your gem into dust myself. And don't think I won't know if you do any of these things because I will. I have eyes everywhere." A few robots peaked their heads of from the air ducts and skuttled across the ceiling. Lifting a digit, she snapped a finger and all three robots froze and their robotic sensors turned a dark red. Their claws gleaned in the light and their big eyes were cold and lifeless. "Are we clear?" The Era One gem spoke, her own tone just as calculated and callous as her robots.

The ruby gulped and her mouth went dry. "C-Completely crystal clear- I mean uh not crystal clear!" The ruby's eyes were widened. "I mean it's just that I hate crystals! And yes," The gem awkwardly cleared her throat, "I understand ma'am."

The Era One gem walked towards the bay doors, "And if _those_ two-" She jerked her head towards Pearl or Garnet, "-try and escape, fuse or do anything that could be deemed suspicious…" The Era One gem pulled a destabilizer out from it's working limb enhancer and tossed it down to the red gem, "Shatter the green one. I really only need the War Machine and the Renegade." She gave a grin, "The rest are for just a nice bonus, but leverage is just as useful."

The destabilizer clattered in the red gem's hands and she gave a wide stare up at her superior. "Shatter..?" She gulped, "But… um, how will I know when I should…You know..."

"Shatter the prisoner?" The Era One gem rolled her eyes, "If the two of them try something or if you get sick or listening to the little shard whine. Whichever comes first, they're all going to die sooner or later." With a whirl of a limb enhancer, the war veteran pushed a sequence of buttons and the door opened. "Rubies are totally useless." She muttered with a shake of her head, "Why the Diamonds created them are a mystery to-" The rest of the gem's words were lost as the automatic door shut behind them and there was a 'bout of silence.

The ruby dejectedly sighed and got into straightened into a guard position. The gem stood by the door, her shoulders square and unmoving as she stared straight ahead.

Both Garnet and Pearl paid no mind to the ruby as their eyes were fixed onto Peridot. One moment passed, two… But Peridot still didn't move.

It wasn't long before Pearl began to pace once again.

"We need to get out of here Garnet." Pearl began, her eyes worriedly went to the door and back. "Especially if that monster is after Steven and Amethyst now. You and I both know what could happen if that war veteran gets ahold of Steven! What if we-"

"We can't form Sardonyx." Garnet stated quietly, brooding against the wall. "That won't help and the cell is too small. She'd hit into the field and be destabilized before we could do a thing."

"But we have to do something!" Pearl snapped, her voice low as she gestured to Peridot, "Just look at her! We need to get to Steven, Amethyst and Peridot before anything else does! We haven't even seen Peridot's gem! What if it's cracked beyond-"

"Pearl." Garnet interrupted her teammate, settling a hand on her shoulder. "You need to calm down, we have to trust Steven and Amethyst."

"Trust those two by themselves?!" Pearl sputtered, "Amethyst and Steven get into enough trouble on a normal day, let alone-"

"Steven and Amethyst will be fine." Garnet reassured, readjusting her visor. "Those two are more skilled than you give them credit for."

"Maybe…" Pearl spoke, lifting herself out of Garnet's grip as she tried to relax her shoulders. "Knowing them, they've probably caused more damage than all three of us combined- well maybe not Peridot..." Pearl quietly spoke, leaning up as close to the barrier as possible to gaze at the smaller gem.

When they had broken through the doors, both of them were startled by the state the inside of the ship was in. The entire main frame was in disarray and Pearl had been afraid the computer had been rigged into a bomb, considering the doomsday like countdown that had Peridot's name all over it. In fact, it was easy to see that it had all been Peridot's handiwork. The youngest of the Crystal Gems was resourceful when she needed to be and even in chains, Peridot still fought for all she had. And despite Pearl's frustration at her orders not being obeyed- she was going to give Peridot a serious talking to when they got out of here, Pearl adored her tenacity. Peridot had come so far from the prideful homeworld gem that she had once been.

Both her and Garnet were so proud of her.

"I knew she shouldn't have been given a mission yet!" Pearl spoke, turning on Garnet as she gave the other a cross look. "I knew that she wasn't ready and look at her now! Bleeding and broken!" Her shrill voice was going higher but Garnet remained unmoved at her ire. "I should've been here! We should've been here!"

"It's not Peridot's fault that this happened." Garnet started, "We weren't trying to send her to go fight a war veteran, especially not to the likes of that gem..." Pearl and Garnet fell into a small bout of silence. The moment they first walked onto the ship it wasn't clear what they were looking at.

"Bounty hunters." Pearl hissed, screwing her eyes shut in anger. There had been a few over the last thousand years, looking mostly for Rose or for her as Homeworld's Public Enemy number one and number two. Most of them had been a few scout squadrons sent in teams of three or five to find them. They had been easy to dismantle and even easier to keep away from Steven. But this gem was different; experienced in fighting and not just in general but in fighting _them_. This gem was a relic of wars past. Pearl herself had always wondered what had happened to the other survivors. But now she was sure that she didn't want to know, not if she had to learn under these kind of circumstances.

If…" Garnet sucked in a breath and Pearl looked over to see the beginnings of real emotion come to the surface. "If I had known that there was a Homeworld ship in our atmosphere, I would've never let her out on her own." Garnet took off her visor and wiped her eyes with her hand. Pearl's anger mellowed and she stopped her pacing. None of them had expected this, yet it was clear that Garnet took it the hardest.

Both of them stayed there in silence and a dark mood clouded over. The hiss of vapor steamed overhead with random echoes of scurrying through the leaky hull. Pearl looked down at Garnet. The fusion was still rubbing the bridge of her nose and she could easily see that there was an internal battle waging inside. She wasn't sure what Sapphire and Ruby felt about it but they cared just as much, if not more. Garnet was literally the embodiment of their feelings. Pearl hated that she felt that way. As the unspoken leader of the group, Garnet had a lot on her shoulders and because of her future vision, she felt that anything that went wrong was on her.

Peridot was the youngest of their group and each of them felt responsible for her in their own way. They all helped in training her and showing her new parts of human culture. She was a perfect fit into their little family. They had been training her for the past few months and she was really coming along. Pearl couldn't say she'd make a master swordsman out of her yet but she at least knew enough of the basics. Amethyst had been helping her with her footing, dodging and getting creative in battle. She was helping Peridot learn to use her own genius and small stature to her advantage against larger opponents.

Garnet though had been a big focal point in the younger gem's training. With meditation and other tactics, Peridot had really grown in her ability to to apply all the skills being taught. Even Steven helped out, claiming to teach her about 'diplomacy'. Though Pearl did admit to have laughing when Peridot first asked what 'community service' was.

Pearl had encouraged it even if she had agreed with Peridot's complaining was right in that it had been nothing but boring work that didn't really help with combat skills- not that she was going to dismiss Steven's idea behind it. Knowing when to fight and when not to fight was important. Pearl didn't dismiss Steven's encouraging way of trying to help Peridot, their boy was just trying to get Peridot to be more helpful. And when was Pearl going to tell Steven that he, Connie and Peridot couldn't go pass out fliers or help clean up the beach? Sometimes all of them would go and it would make for a nice day out.

Reaching down, she rubbed Garnet's hand. A reassuring smile touched her lips, "We are the Crystal Gems~" Pearl hummed, "We'll always save the day~" Garnet looked up at Steven's familiar song.

There was a long pause and a moment between them before Garnet's voice broke the silence, "And if you think we can't~" The fusion continued, her low voice rumbling with the tune. A song didn't seem like much but it was one of the first times they had heard Steven sing. He was a little musical genius and their 'theme song' was one that each of them had taken to heart. It was a wonderful reminder of all they stood for; Freedom, Family, Rose and now their love for Steven. It was a reminder that even though they went through hard stuff, they always found a way and pulled out in the end.

Pearl turned back to the barrier and again worry creased her brow. She swiped a hand against the shuttering barrier as the energy seemed to hit a low point. If she could just...

Pearl stepped back as the red gem marched in front of the barrier between the two of them and Peridot. The destabilizer was raised and both of the gem's in the cell stared pointedly at it.

"Prisoners will be silent!" The ruby loudly declared, watching the interactions between Pearl and Garnet. The two gems behind the containment field said nothing after a long moment but it was clear that something important was passed between them.

So Pearl began to pace again. Back and forth, back and forth. She dragged a hand along the metal of the cell, looking for a weak point. The humming continued to softly echo and her and Garnet shared a look. The moment they had the chance- they were going to break out. And nothing was going to stop them from protecting the ones that they loved the most.

_Meanwhile on the control deck…_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be from Steven and Amethyst's POV. I'm sure you're all wondering what they've been up to...


	5. Chapter 5

"You know Amethyst! When there is a big shiny red button that has a symbol that says 'danger' above it, you generally shouldn't touch it!" Steve hollered, tightening his grip on Amethyst's hand as his body lifted off the ground.

"It didn't say anything about danger!" Amethyst yelled, holding a tighter grip on his hand as she yanked him back down to the ground.

"Shattered gem shards, Amethyst!" Steven loudly announced, grunting with effort as he tried to combat the gusts of artificial wind that were making it very hard to stay on the floor. If Steven hadn't been busy at the moment, he would've probably face palmed. "There were depictions of gems being shattered all over the place! I don't read 'gem' but it clearly said-"

"What did you say?" Amethyst hollered, accidentally interrupting him. Her voice strained with effort as she barely held her grip on the side of the metal walls. Her fingers were slipping and it took all she had to hold on. The wind was howling, so loud and strong that it was hard for Steven to even see his friend let alone hear what she was saying. Red lights of alarms were screaming through the air and Steven gulped, a big hangar door was opening on the other side of the chamber. A dark gloom seemed to creep out of it and Steven got a very bad feeling from it. They needed to get as far away as possible from it.

"Warning," A metallic voice announced over the speaker, "Decontamination in T-minus twelve-"

He heard another noise and looked up in time to see another grouping of robonoids drop down from the the open hatch in the ceiling. Their sharp claws stretched and they beared a very clear resemblance to arachnids going after their prey. Steven didn't even have time to yell to Amethyst before he was bodily tossed in the air. Holding his arms out, he created a bubble as the harsh artificial air blowers sent him flying upward. His bubble bounced against the top and with a loud pop, Steven's bubble burst and he dropped back down to the floor.

"Looks like we have company!" Amethyst yelled, her body taking on a purple light before the famed Purple Puma of Beach City appeared in her place. The robots crawled from every direction, pouncing on Amethyst's back and crawling up into her hair. They didn't stay long as she wildly threw them off four or five at a time.

Steven yelped as another group dropped around him. Another pink bubble burst into being and he watched with morbid fascination as they began to pile up and around the bubble in an attempt to stab their way through it. So of course Steven did the only logical thing that made sense at the moment, run. Around and around Steven went, like a hamster in a ball. The robonoids were bounced or crushed under his bubble as they were thrown off of his shield.

Green goop littered the bottom of the chamber, exploding over Amethyst and Steven as more and more robonoids fell at their feet.

Rolling over to Amethyst, he allowed his bubble to dissipate before joining her in the fight. They worked in a familiar tag team. Taking up his shield, Steven batted the robonoids toward Amethyst, who would crush the robots under her large fists.

Diving out of the way of a pair of spiked claws, Steven fended off a particularly vicious robonoid before batting it down with his shield. Again and again the robonoids came and despite them not being hard to fight, the overwhelming numbers began to tire them out. Every scratch they took from the sharp claws only furthered to wear the two out.

"Warning, decontamination in T-minus ten minutes… Warning, decontamination in T-minus-"

The artificial wind began to pick up, spinning round and round the chamber in a strange motion. The robonoids began to be picked up in the gusts, their metallic orbs were sent flying back into the hatch on the other side of the room. But they refused to let their prize go.

"Hey!" The Purple Puma yelled as they took a tight hold onto the back of her hair. The wind caught the robonoids and as they went flying back, so did she. Stumbling off balance, the purple gem stepped into a thick puddle of green slime and she slipped. A purple light overtook her as she lost total control of her body and she was once again Amethyst. Her smaller stature only made their grip that much tighter and she began to kick at the robonoids as she was being dragged. "Let go of me you little freaks!"

"Warning, decontamination in T-minus five minutes… Warning, decontam-"

"Amethyst!" Steven's voice wobbled as the hatch at the end opened wider and wider. There was a flash of ominous green light. The wind picked up louder and there was a faint buzz in the air. Batting away the metallic robots, Steven looked around for anything that could help them get back out of here. He couldn't help but wonder how they had possibly gotten to this point in the first place.

_Thirty Three Minutes Prior…_

"You would think that Pearl would've been the one going to the control room." Amethyst grumbled. She flicked her hair back and kept a steady crawl through the ducts. "I really wanted to kick some butt!"

"It was Garnet who assigned the teams," Steven placated, following right behind Amethyst, "And our job is just as important as-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I heard Pearl's speech too." Amethyst rolled her eyes, breaking through a grouping of wiring that blocked their path, "And Garnet of course doesn't care that it was _my_ turn to go on a mission with her." Immediately when Garnet had called all the gems together, Amethyst had known exactly what she wanted to do. She had been so ready to go in, whips flailing to rescue Peridot. But Garnet had turned to Amethyst and said that she didn't have the 'proper discretion for a mission of this profile'. Amethyst didn't really know exactly what that meant, it sounded a too much like Sapphire but whatever it was- Pearl had thought it was funny. With a hand up to her mouth, Pearl had given a ghost of a smile that almost went unnoticed before she had been briefed with what she would be doing with Garnet. Of course her attitude had immediately changed when she found out that Steven would be braving the dark air ducts without her. Then she had protested right alongside Amethyst until Garnet had silenced them both with four words.

_'Pearl, you can't fit.'_

Amethyst had howled in laughter at Pearl's sputtering and beamed with Steven as the 'shortie squad' seemed to be back in action. The idea that Pearl's stick-like legs would get crunched in the vents only made her laugh harder. But despite her good cheer that always came to poking fun at Pearl, Garnet's words still made her pause and her heart skipped a beat at the insinuation.

And Amethyst did get it, she knew she had some weakness and could very well admit that Pearl was much more seasoned than she was in a few areas. And the purple gem had come to accept and admire the fact that Pearl literally had over like a hundred centuries or more to perfect her craft in the art of war. She was an old warrior and even more so of an old, cranky scarecrow that was fun to get riled up. And that was her own way of showing she cared, but it was times like this that she resented the small smug smiles that appeared from time to time. It was that moment that she had made this mission into a competition and had loudly announced as such. And she knew it's wasn't a game that Dot had been kidnapped, she knew how serious it was but she had still sunk underneath Pearl's admonishing look.

_'Amethyst! You need to take the this more seriously- I mean really! This isn't-'_

It was the same words she had heard time and time again. She knew that it wasn't a game and this wasn't just like any other mission. She wasn't childish and resented such sentiment. But Amethyst wanted to prove that she could do any mission that Garnet needed her for, she could do anything Pearl could do and a competition would be perfect for that.

She'd had about half a century to work on her own battle skills and she felt more than ready to be up to where Pearl and Garnet were. She felt underestimated. Just because they had a thousand years or so on her didn't mean that she wasn't just as good.l

Amethyst's knees banged against the metal in her trudging, uncaring as the sound echoed through the dark tunnels. She'd so rather be kicking butt and beating up bad guys than crawling through tunnels, "Pearl better get a good kick in for me…" Steven didn't bother to pay attention to Amethyst's grumbling and instead pulled out the makeshift map that Pearl had made.

Staring at it for a few moment, he pulled a flashlight of from the open flap in his backpack and flipped it on. Holding it in his mouth, he rotated the map a few times and stared pointedly at the path they were supposed to take and the dark duct they were trudging through.

_'Now remember Steven, follow the blue circuitry all the way through the ship. The blue lights will flash in sequences of three. The faster they flash-'_

"-the closer you are to the control room." Steven spoke, remembering Pearl's words. With a frown he stared at the pathway and back at the map again, "Uh Amethyst?" He called, his voice echoing down the long maze of metal. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" He asked, scooting as fast as he could to catch up to his teammate. "We're supposed to be following the blue tubes. And I don't see any flashing lights…"

"Blue tubes?" Amethyst asked, "Oh! You mean this?" She spoke, turning around to show fistfuls of sparking blue wiring and elongated tubes. "It was in the way so I just ripped it all down."

"Amethyst! What are you doing?!" Steven gasped, frantically scooting forward to grasp the ends of the wire that laid dying on the floor.

"Chill, little man." Amethyst gave a laugh, "I'm just making it easier to get through. The small wires were getting stuck in my hair and those big tubes were squishing under my knees."

"But, but!" Steven sputtered, tapping pointedly at the map, "We need to follow the flashing light to get to the control room."

"Oh…" Amethyst spoke, dropping on fistful of it on the floor as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "My bad."

"Well we can follow the rest of it." Steven spoke, pulling out his flashlight once again before flipping it on. His eyes scanned the multicolored lines. "If we go through this hatch here!" Steven exclaimed, tracing his finger up along the detour, "-and take a couple turns, we should make it to another blue section of wire. The map shows that it flows all the way to the control room. That's what Pearl said we should- hey!"

"Let me see the map!" Amethyst spoke, grabbing at the paper. Blue coolant liquid oozed out of the tubes in her fist, causing the metal to hiss as the subzero temperatures dropped against it. As soon as the liquid touched the map, the paper shriveled up beneath it. Neither had a chance to do anything to even attempt to save it before it became nothing but a freeze dried ball of frozen liquid.

"The map..." Steven gaped in horror, his voice going low with disbelief, "But… But that had the direction on how to work the stuff in the control room!" Steven looked at the blue pulsing that was fading in the wall. "Hurry!" Steven exclaimed, grabbing Amethyst's wrist, "We gotta follow the light before it fades completely!"

The pair went scampering down the duct as fast as they could with Steven dragging his open backpack behind them. But it seemed of no use, only after a few turns had the light faded to almost nonexistent until it finally stopped glowing at all.

"What're we going to do now!" Steven panted, frantically pulling at the map, "Pearl said we were supposed to follow the blue and-"

"Pfft! Forget about the map, dude!" Amethyst spoke, slapping Steven on the back, "We don't need one, especially from the likes of Pearl!" She continued, ignoring Steven's plight.

Steven looked up with a frown, "But if we don't have the map, how are we going to find it?!"

"Leave that to me." Amethyst boasted, buffing her nails against her chest, "You said follow the blue light right? Well watch this!" Taking the wiring that was on the wall, Amethyst grabbed the tubing wrapped under and ripped it open with her teeth.

"Amethyst!" Steven loudly complained, throwing himself back as the subzero coolant splashed against the metal plates under them. He wrinkled his nose at the strong chemical smell, "That's what the problem was in the first place, we can't rip down wire-"

"Cool your jets, Steve-man!" Amethyst returned, unfazed by his panicked expression. Taking the end of the tubes, she tipped up the hose and sent the remaining coolant liquid tapering down the wires. "Steven, you have water in your bag right?" She asked, holding a hand out as she watched the liquid slowly drop down the tube.

"I think so, let me check," Dragging his backpack from behind him, Steven began to dig through it. Sadly it wasn't his cheeseburger backpack this time, that had been too big to fit for this mission. But luckily the bag had also come with mini condiment satchels which were the perfect size. Digging through the mustard bag, he finally found what he was looking for. "Here you go Amethyst, but don't drink it all." He warned, "It might be handy to save some for later."

Screwing off the top of the water, Amethyst poured about half the contents into the wiring tubes before violently shaking it up and down like a wave. "We wanna beat Pearl and Garnet's team right?" Amethyst continued, grinning as the water sloshed around, "Well I'm making a shortcut." Steven watched and his eyes lit of as the water, now mixed with the residue coolant, quickly ran down the tubes. It slowly started but the blue lighting began to flicker before powering up.

"Woah!" Steven's eyes lit up, "You made more coolant! Now we can follow the blue tubes. You're a genius Amethyst!"

The purple gem beamed at his praise, "I have my moments. Now let's go! I wanna shove it in Pearl's face when we get to the control room before she and Garnet get to the bay. I don't care what Garnet says, this is totally a race." Crudely tying the broken coolant tubes into a knot. She and Steven began to crawl forward.

_SCREEEEEEE_

Steven and Amethyst both jumped as the metal under them began to groan. Jolting back, the pair immediately went back to back.

"What was that?!" Amethyst hissed, her hand automatically reaching up to her chest to ready her whips. "Enemies? I don't see any from my direction."

Steven stayed silent for a moment, his eyes scanning the darkness as they adjusted to the low lighting. "Nothing coming from my direction either."

After a long tense moment, the two relaxed and Steven began to pull his stuff back into his backpack. Zipping it up, he gave a nod. "Let's go Amethyst! Follow that blue flashing!" Turning forward, both began to confidently move forward before a loud, low sounding groan screeched out. Again they paused, and this time, the metal beneath them began to wobble. Steven touched his hands down but yelped back as his hands burned from the cold. In fact, it wasn't just his hand that was cold, it was his whole body. His teeth began to chatter but it didn't look like Amethyst was affected much at all.

Each movement forward caused another groan in the metal and another wave of nervousness to go through him. Something did not feel right. "Amethyst!" He hissed, cautiously looking behind him, "Stop moving!" She turned around to give him a perplexed look and it wasn't until he heard the familiar hissing that he realized what was going on with sudden horror. "Amethyst you need to stop moving." His tone caught her attention and she finally did.

"What? What's wrong Steven?" She asked, looking around once again to scan for enemies. Steven stared down at the residue coolant liquid that was spreading across the metal like a disease.

"Amethyst, "Can't you hear that?!" Steven hissed out, looking at Amethyst's bored expression with an alarmed of his own.

"You mean the noises? Pssh! Come on Steven!" Amethyst flashed him a confidant smirk, "For the record," Amethyet started, unfazed by the noises, "We're crawling through a weird Homeworld ship. Who knows?! Maybe they just like to make them creaky, I don't really see that the problem is. You can't be afraid of every-"

"Do you remember watching Fantastic Four," Steven abruptly interrupted, his voice coming out low as he cautiously listened to the chours of sounds.

Amethyst's forehead wrinkled "Yeah I've seen it." Amethyst murmured, raising a brow, "But I'm not really sure how this is relevant-"

"Do you remember that scene when Dr. Doom is defeated by the Fantastic Four?" Steven interrupted again, earning an annoyed huff from Amethyst as he carefully tested the metal with his sandaled feet. "Do you remember what happens when you rapidly cool metal?" Steven asked, watching the substance hiss as the metal plates began to crack as they turned a darker hue.

"I don't know what happened," Amethyst shrugged, stretching out her arms, I didn't bother to watch the end, I fell asleep." She cracked her neck and gestured for him to follow, "Steven, come on let's go! We're wasting time little man! We can watch it when we get home- after we rescue Peridot of course!"

"Amethyst this is important-"

There was a loud ominous moan and a loud rumble that clearly sounded like something gone wrong in metal structuring. It shook Steven to his core and he could see that the coolant had eaten through the corners of the duct and was pooling out onto the metal outside of where they were situated… It was only a matter of time now.

Amethyst herself looked shaken by the sound and her focus rested on Steven. "Why?" She spoke, her voice a little hurried as her grip on the wiring tightened, "What happens at the end?"

Steven took a small breath, listening carefully as a deep guttural groan sounded out from the metal. "It-"

_CRACK!_

The rest of his sentence was lost as the duct came out from under them. With a scream, both Amethyst and Steven went crashing down into the dark, leaving the flashing blue wires far behind.


	6. Chapter 6

There was nothing. No sound, no light, nothing but feeling of his heart pounding in his chest. But he laid there, for a moment then two before the beating in his chest died to a quiet rhythm that fell out of his mind's eye. It was easy, too easy to just lay there.

_'Steven, you okay little dude? Come on, we gotta get….'_

But the quiet urge in his mind was pricking at him with an urgency that almost confused him. He almost couldn't remember why anymore.

_'-Steven, dude. Not funny. Come on man, get up.'_

Steven tried to ignore his mind, it would be so much easier just to roll over and sleep. But just as he was fall back into the brisk of unconsciousness, the voice permeated through him.

_'Wake up!'_

Steven's eyes snapped open, sound pierced his ears and the voice cleared as his eyes blinked to clear the grogginess away. Purple flooded his vision and suddenly he knew pain.

A groan escaped his lips, "Amethyst, stop shaking me." With a wince, Steven pushed himself out of her arms and stood up. There was a heavy metallic taste in his mouth and his head was woozing in and out to catch a little bit of what Amethyst was saying.

"-no way we can climb back up, it's too long of a fall. We're honestly just lucky that there were those wires that slowed our fall…"

Steven brought his hands up to his eyes and massaged his aching head. Tipping his head back, he looked up to the hole where they had fallen through. Up, high it went, reaching up to heights that made his head crane back. The small hole from metal allowed rays of blue light to flood into the deeper parts of the ship. Blue coolant dropped from above, causing Steven to step back as it sizzled just a few feet away from where he was standing.

Looking around, he noticed that ripped wires of every color wires lay strewn all over the floor. Spying his satchel, he picked it up from off the floor and his eyes went wide as he noticed the holes that littered the bag. It only took a moment to realize what had caused the damage. The few wires he stepped on were hard and the ends of them were turned up and spiked. They looked deadly sharp and each prick glistened with a metal end.

Swinging the bag over his shoulder, he finally turned around and met Amethyst's gaze. He could see the rips in her white tank top and his brow knit in worry as a few streaks of blood glistened on her skin. Without another word, Steven walked right up to her and examined the wounds.

"Steven, I'm fine dude! I don't need your healing spit!" Amethyst protested good naturedly, poking at his pudgy cheeks as they puffed out in concern. "Don't worry about it now, you can lick me or whatever once we get out of here. It's just a little blood." Steven stopped mid lick and carefully wiped his wet palm on his jeans.

Craning his head to look at where they ended up, Steven rubbed the back of his neck. "Got a plan Amethyst?" He asked, his voice echoing through the dark room. There was a brief moment of silence and the only sound was the loan groan of metal and the sporadic hissing of the coolant dripping onto the floor.

Amethyst rubbed her chin and her hand grazed against the wall. Gripping a few of the loose wires, she tugged hard and let out a small gasp as they came tumbling down from high up. Pushing Steven back, the pair watched as a few of the shorter wires stuck upward in the metal as they gouged out the metal sheeting in the floor.

"Well, I know we're not going that way." She spoke, carefully stepping around the broken wires before examining the damage. "There is no way we could climb all the way up." Steven nodded his head at her statement and he looked around. He began to slowly walk towards the opposing wall and Steven was surprised to feel that he was walking up a slight incline. Looking at the floor, it was easy to see why it had been a little bit harder to get their balance at first. The floor was slanted slightly, dipping down towards a larger metal grate in the center of the room. It had extremely tight looking mesh steel over the top. Pulling his flashlight out of his bag, he flicked it on and examined the hole they were in.

The pit they ended up in seemed to be some sort of service hatch or drainage system. Steven could see a Diamond authority symbol in the wall with a small hand plate where you were supposed to put your hand. Steven recognized it from their previous excursions into different ruins. But he didn't want to touch it just yet. As he had learned from missions from the past, sometimes they didn't just open doors but started sequences of actions. He didn't see anything that resembled a door so he just left it alone. They could try it once they had tried a least a couple other options.

There were huge pipes sticking out of the back walls. Steven still wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed them at first. They were huge! Leading high up to the ceiling, their stacks were surrounded by a thick sheet of metal. When he looked closer, Steven could see some maintenance hatches. Their little doors were covered in squiggles on indecipherable writing.

Sticking his hand against the pipe, Steven could feel the rumbling of something running through the pipe. He put his head against the metal to try and hear what it could be. After a long moment of concentrated silence he tilted his head back in confusion before listening again, it sounded very strange. Instead of low rumbling of liquid, which he had expected, it was something different. It had a high wine and sounded hollow. The metal was warm to his ear and Steven gave a frown before taking a step back. He didn't know much about space ships but whatever was flowing through it, it was some sort of weird gem spacey tech.

 _'I bet Peridot would know what it was.'_ Steven's face fell at the thought and shoulders straightened.

Pearl had already been in a tizzy that week. It had been battle after battle between Peridot and her. Steven watched as the training sessions became brutally bruising as Pearl made an attempt to discourage Peridot. The last time the green gem had claimed she was ready, it ended very very badly.

It didn't take long before Garnet intervened and the younger gem was allowed to go on a mission of her own.

Pearl spent the whole day staring at the clock. She wrung her hands with her nerves and every time a gust of wind would bang against the screen door, her head would swivel in expectation. Like in any moment there was going to be a little green gem scrambling up the steps to the door. Everyone had turned a deaf ear to her mutterings and other mentions about all the things that could go wrong. Steven had made sure to just stay out of her way when she had spent the afternoon venomously attacking that kitchen with a sponge.

When Peridot didn't come back to eat with them on time, they had assumed and Amethyst had audibly assured that 'the nerd' had probably gone down to the barn after the mission to grab something.

It would've been a little unlike her- not to come barging through the door to proclaim her victory. But Steven was sure that she was going to be there any minute. It was better not to rush the green gem if they could help it. It was her first mission and they were all excited to hear how it went.

But as the minutes ticked and Pearl's eyes seemed to drill into the screen door, Steven had volunteered himself to go down and check on her. He didn't even get the words out of his mouth before Pearl had abruptly decided she wanted to come with him- Garnet and Amethyst were not far behind her.

It was only about a fifteen minute walk. He had hoped that she was catching up with Lapis. Between Peridot's training and Lapis' secret missions that Steven still wasn't allowed to know about (that was a whole other can of worms), the two barnmates didn't really get to see each other. Steven was sure that Peridot had mentioned to Lapis about the mission so he had tried to subtly hint to Lapis the last time he had seen her that she should try and be there to eat dinner with them and congratulate Peridot.

But when they had gotten there. The barn was dark, no had seemed to have been there all day. There had been a tense period of waiting that Steven had been very uncomfortable listening to.

_"She's not here Garnet!" Pearl spoke, her voice beginning to raise in the tell tale signs of a panic attack. With her fists clenched at her side, Pearl spun on her heel, "I knew it!" Both Steven and Amethyst winced at the shriek, "I knew this was going to-"_

_"Sundown, Pearl." Garnet's calm voice stopped Pearl's shrill voice from going any higher. Putting a hand on her shoulder, Garnet turned towards the horizon. The beams of the setting sun bounced off her visor and the fusion almost seemed to be glowing. "I told her that she should be back by sundown at the latest. The sun hasn't even set yet. And you and I both know how far the walk can be when the warp pads aren't in use. Let's wait and see."_

With that consensus, the four of them loitered around the barn. As the minutes ticked by, the sun crept below the horizon until the sun was gone and dusk had settled. When the final rays were finally gone and the crickets had began to chirp, it became apparent that Peridot was not going to be home in time for supper.

 _'We're just going to have to postpone dinner until later.'_ Steven mused before shaking the thoughts from his head. His stomach rumbled a bit but he paid no mind. Peridot was the number one priority right now. And they needed to get to the control room.

But when he took a step back, Steven did notice something. A shiny sparkle of metal caught his eye and he turned his head. Far up, about half way up to the ceiling was a service hatch. He could see the bars on the outside and the small latch that was probably to open and close it.

"Steven this isn't going to work." A voice called out from the other side of the room. "The walls are covered in broken electrical stuff, the only way to get up without getting cut is to not touch the walls. Your floating powers wouldn't happen to be working would they?" Amethyst seemed to pause, "I mean I know they work!" She spoke again, "But I mean, enough so you don't jump us into the ceiling. I don't think those pipes can take much more."

"I think I got a better idea." Steven interrupted her train of thought, motioning her over, "Take a look at this!" Amethyst's footsteps echoed against the hard metal as she scrambled towards him. Following his line of sight, she caught sight of the shiny metal and let out a laugh.

"Nice work dude!" With a slight quirk of a smile, she settled her back against the wall and faced Steven. "Here! Let me give you a boost up." With a quiet flash of purple light, Amethyst's hands grew in size until both Steven's feet could rest comfortable in her hands. Stepping up, Steven balanced himself on her hands. He used the crook of his elbow to steady himself against Amethyst's shoulder and waited for the signal. Giving a quiet countdown, Amethyst threw him up high into the air.

Steven's stomach seemed to almost leap to his throat as he became airborne. When his body became parallel with the bars, he gripped them hard and yanked. With the combined power of his strength and gravity on his side, the bars cracked and fell down with him. The broken metal from the maintenance hatch clattered against the ground, causing a series of echoes to ring out across the drainage area

Steven felt himself arch back and his stomach did flip flops as gravity took him back down. Eyes wide he tried to focus himself to float. It was a skill he hadn't mastered on command yet. But he didn't even get the chance. Steven felt a pair of arms snatch him out of the air. Turning his head in surprise, he beamed at Amethyst. "Thanks Amethy-" He let out a yelp of surprise as he was tossed up in the air once again.

"Catch the side of it, Steven!" Amethyst called, her voice ringing across the empty chamber. Steven's eyes narrowed and his tongue stuck out in concentration. But Amethyst's throw had almost been too much, he had soared to a height well past the maintenance hatch. He took a large breath as he felt himself reach a momentary level of weightlessness as he met the max height.

"I think this was a little too hiiiggghhhh!" Steven's words vibrated as he fell face down towards the metal grounding. Closing his eyes, Steven's head arched back as he flipped down through the air. Holding his arm out in an attempt to slow himself down, the tip of his fingers met the metal. With the speed of his fall increasing, the cool metal suddenly became increasingly warm under the friction against his skin. But it wasn't another moment before his hand fell forward as he became level with the open hatch. Throwing himself forward, Steven gripped the ledge and pulled himself up. Scorching himself into the interior, he blew on his slightly burning fingers before leaning his head out.

"Steven! You okay Steven?!"

"Got it Amethyst!" He gave her a thumbs up before his brow wrinkled in a frown. "Umm Amethyst?" He called, leaning out over the ledge to look down at her, "How are you going to get up here?"

"Oh don't you worry about that, Steven!" She gave a grin before running back to the opposite wall. His nose wrinkled in confusion as she pressed herself against it and lowered her body down.

Steven shook his head, "I don't think you can jump that high Amethyst! There aren't any hand holds on the wall! Why don't you just transfigure into a bird or something?"

"A bird?" Amethyst cracked her knuckles before settling her stance. "That's no fun! And besides! This is way better than jumping! You'd better take a step back Steven!"

Steven was still unsure but nonetheless he did as she suggested and took a step back. The purple gem seemed to wait for a moment and then, with an unforeseen signal, she was off. But instead of running towards the opposite wall like Steven had thought, she began to run around the larger room. After a lap, Steven was about to suggest she do something different. But then he began to notice something.

As she hit her second lap, Amethyst began to go faster. With a determined look on her face, Steven watched as she sprinted as fast as she could across the concrete like arena. But instead of taking a hard left, she kept going towards the wall. Steven brought his hands up to his face in horror, "Amethyst! You're going to hit the-"

_Whoosh!_

Throwing herself forward, Amethyst rolled into a purple ball and zoomed up the wall. It was a blur of purple and Amethyst seemed to go even faster as her spinning body curved up. Spinning around and around, Steven leaned his head out and looked down as the purple ball of flurry wooshed a couple feet under the maintenance hatch. The speed caused a gust of wind to whip through his hair.

Steven couldn't help but stare in awe. Amethyst reminded him of one of his favorite video game characters. With stars in his eyes, he took a step back as Amethyst's form dashed along the upper parts of the wall and disappeared out from his line of sight. It was only another moment before she appeared in the hole before him. Throwing herself in, Steven jumped to the side as she skidded past him and slid face first against the metal. He let out a wince of his own at the sight.

After a long pause, Amethyst let out a groan, "I should probably practice the landing, huh?" Sitting herself up, Amethyst brushed herself off and ran a hand through her now thoroughly tangled hair. "So which way now?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she stood up. It was nice to finally be able to stand at full height in comparison with that other air duct. Amethyst finally seemed to notice Steven's silence. "What's wrong Steve-man? Don't leave me hanging…" She trailed off at his dumbfound expression and a seed out doubt wormed in her. "What?" Amethyst forward before staring down at her shirt, "I don't have a stain do I?"

Those words seemed to snap Steven out of his muse and he shook his head. "That was so cool!" Steven beamed, throwing his arms up, "I didn't know you could run around walls with it! That's like the best thing ever!"

Amethyst was taken aback at his enthusiasm. "Oh! It's just something I've been working a bit on. You're not the only one that trains." A blush unwillingly worked its way onto her face, her usual brash and confident demeanor seemed to disappear under Steven's undivided attention. Amethyst suddenly found herself staring down at her feet.

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

Amethyst jerked up at Steven's question and a warm feeling hit her chest. It had been a long time since Steven had asked her to teach him anything. Pearl had always been the one to teach him, especially when he got older.

Seeing Steven grow up was a bittersweet thing. She had loved him since the moment he could grab onto her fingers and give a wide toothless grin that eerily reminded them all of Rose.

He used to follow her around constantly, his eyes shining as everything she said and did was something new and amazing. Amethyst loved to be around him and show him all the things that Rose had showed her about Earth. Well- not all. There were still a few things that they had agreed he wasn't ready for.

But as he had gotten older, the wonderful, amazing, older sister had become someone who wasn't much to look up to. Steven learned all he needed to from Garnet, Pearl and even Greg. Suddenly, it seemed that what she had to say wasn't as important as it once had been.

And that wasn't to say that Steven wasn't the beautiful, wonderful boy that they all loved- but he was growing up. And Amethyst couldn't say that she didn't fear that one day he would find all of her flaws that she tried so hard to keep buried. Deep inside, she feared that one day Steven would leave her just like Rose had left her. Amethyst was afraid that one day she would wake up and he would be gone without an explanation that really made any sense.

But looking back at Steven, who was holding the same expression he'd been looking at her since he could walk, made something inside her melt.

"...yeah Steven, I'll teach you. We quartz' haveta stick together." Amethyst's eyes seemed to shine in the dark and she could feel a wonderful sense of pride and love fill her. She took a deep breath to steady her feelings she reoriented herself. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves!" Amethyst preened, hiding her emotions under a mask of self confidence. Turning around, she began to hurry down the corridor. "We gotta save Peridot first! Then I'll show you how to do my signature move!"

Taking a hard right, she could hear Steven panting behind her. "But Amethyst! We still don't know the way!" Steven bounded up behind his teammate and tried to catch his breath, "We should start by trying to find the- oof~!"

Steven balked as he slammed into the back of Amethyst as she skidded to a halt right in front of him.

"Blue wires?" Her eyes lit up and her usual confidence seemed to radiate off of her. She turned her body and waved an arm in front of her. "You mean these?" Displayed directly to her right was a corridor that was lit by a soft blue glow. Amethyst reached back and picked Steven back up off the ground before starting off again down the lit up corridors. The metal beneath her feet rattled with the harsh movement. It wasn't another moment before there were two steps of noisy footsteps racing down the maintenance hatch.

Picking up speed, Amethyst turned and gripped Steven's arm before slugging him up on her back, "Let's pick up the pace! If we're gonna beat Pearl and Garnet and save the day all at once, we'd better hurry up!" With a flash of purple light, Amethyst transformed into the semblance of a cheetah. Steven let out a whoop of delight and his hands gripped comfortably into her fur as she picked up speed.

"Hard right!"

Ears pricking, Amethyst followed Steven's directions and found herself facing another hallway of blue wiring.

They worked well as a team, Steven directed her path as Amethyst raced them across the drudges of the ship. She was honestly surprised on how much bigger it was on the inside. Wasn't there some sort of machine thingy that could do that? Makes things bigger on the inside? Amethyst distinctly remembered Peridot trying an experiment on it. Something about 'displacing matter', 'blue boxes' and 'ponds'. A smile came to her lips. Peridot had run screaming out the barn after a nasty explosion. For a solid week the Crystal Gems had heard her non stop rambling about 'time' disruption and other nonsense. It took about a little longer than a week to finally get ahold of Lapis enough for her to explain it was a new show that Peridot had become obsessed with.

Amethyst could almost hear Peridot's nasally tone spewing facts about the ship they were running through. The pads of her paws hit hard against the metal and her muscles coiled with every jump.

Amethyst was worried about the little green nerd. It hadn't exactly been that long since Homeworld forces had come for Rose Quartz or the Crystal Gems or whoever was on their list of gems to kidnap. It was a lousy turn of events and Amethyst felt bad for Peridot. But in the same way she almost felt bad for the unfortunate gem who decided it would be a grand idea to kidnap the Crystal Gem's youngest and least experienced in battle.

That was a mistake they unfortunately wouldn't live to reconcile. The moment that either Garnet or Pearl got their hands on them would be their last.

Amethyst shivered at the thought. With Pearl squalling and throwing her arms in the air, it would be easy for someone to think that she was the angriest.

That of course was wrong.

Garnet was the one that Amethyst was a bit wary of right now. The fusion was the one who advocated for Peridot and had been the one to allow her on the mission to get in this mess. Amethyst herself didn't see it as anyone's fault but she knew Garnet well enough to know that their leader self inflicted the lion's share of blame. She knew how responsible Garnet felt for each and every one of the Crystal Gems. A team failure was a personal failure in her eyes.

It didn't help that she had a particular soft spot for Peridot. The moment the sun went down, they had all felt a shift in Garnet. There was an air around the fusion that made Amethyst take a step back. Garnet was _angry_.

And when Garnet was angry...

Amethyst almost cringed at the thought.

"There! The control room!"

Amethyst skidded to a halt at Steven's cry and let him down. In a muted flash of purple, Amethyst let herself go to her normal form. She followed after Steven into the control room. Squinting, the purple gem was blinded for a moment before her eyes adjusted to the light. Amethyst's brow rose in surprise as she took in the spacious room.

The ceilings were high, steel like brackets encased the room like a skeletal structure. Stepping through, the purple gem turned quickly at the sound of the door automatically closing behind her. Soft white and lights scattered the floor, creating a floor pattern to easily follow to the center area. Looking up she watched in amusement as Steven raced ahead of her, each panel he stepped on triggered a new light to flicker on as the place seemed to come to life.

Following after Steven, she looked around the fact room in curiosity. It reminded her a bit of the red eye ship that the rubies owned except this one was much bigger. Taking the steps two at a time, Amethyst quickly made her way up to the raised platform. Meeting eyes with Steven, both of them grinned and jumped onto the cushy pilots seat. Instead of sitting like a normal chair, it floated by the first end of the console. The bottom of it glowed a soft green and the white leather like cushions seemed to glow under the bright light.

"It's mine!"

"It's mine!"

Both Amethyst and Steven called before racing towards it. Jumping, both landed on top of each other in the seat. It was a little bit of a tight squeeze so Amethyst easily scooped Steven up and set him partially on her lap. She gave a laugh at his astonished expression and ruffled his hair.

"Forgot how strong I was, eh?" Her face split in teasing grin before setting her sites on the controls before them. Clearing her throat, "First order of business, First Mate Steven!" Amethyst called, her voice going low in a dramatic fashion, "We have to-"

"Wait!" Steven spoke, his head tilting, "If I'm first mate then what does that make you?"

Amethyst cleared her throat, "Why the Captain of course!"

Steven's jaw dropped, "How come you're captain?!"

"Well first of all, matey!" Amethyst started, looking down at her teammate, "I'm team leader- second of all!" She spoke up, cutting off any protests, "I'm older, third of all," A purple light flashed and she gave him a grin, "I look the part more!" Steven's eyes lit up as he took a look at Amethyst's new outfit.

"Space pirates!" He gave a grin, beaming at her outfit. She tipped her hat and smoothed down her fancy pirate coat. Her favorite thing about it was all the buttons.

Flipping the eyepatch up so she could see, her eyes playfully narrowed. "And fourth of all!" Amethyst harshly spoke, her voice lisping to that of a Caribbean pirate, ""Yo ho, yo ho! The frisky plank you walks along if there is such a thing of mutiny in me sight!" Steven tried to look solemn but she could spot the crack of a smile. With a snigger, she lifted her chin up in a dignified manner, "Savvy, mate?"

"Yes!" Steven spoke, turning to give her a big salute.

"That's Captain Ame to you, Private!" She preened with the airs of royalty. "Hoist the sail! Pull up the anchor!"

Steven's head quirked, "I don't think "private" is a pirate term?"

"Well… Uh.. Shiver me timbers?" She faltered for a moment.

There was an awkward pause between them and Steven looked down at the controls. "I don't think there are any sails or anchors here, Captain."

Amethyst blinked for a moment then two before finally shrugging her shoulders. In a flash of purple light, the pirate clothes melted off her. "I've never been much of a pirate anyways, but I still am Captain! How 'bout copilot?"

Steven beamed and sincerely brought a fist to his chest. "At your service, Captain!"

Running her hand over a few of the shiny buttons, Amethyst curiously examined the screens around them. "So first order of business then," Amethyst started, pressing a few of the buttons. "How do we get this thing on?" Both of them frowned and Amethyst gave a shrug before she began to press every button. Nothing responded even the slightest at her command. Amethyst poked the screen, maybe it was broken? Pushing herself off the console. The pair slid down the console board. With her arm stretched out, Amethyst roughly smashed every button with the side of her arm in an attempt to get it to start. When the chair finally slowed down and bumped into the other end of the console, both turned to look back.

Nothing.

Amethyst have a slight groan and pursed her lips in frustration. A slight sense of urgency began to rise in her. This whole plan hinged on her and Steven making sure this ship wasn't going anywhere. There were going to be no 'surprises' where they would take a roundabout trip to space… again. By this time, Pearl and Garnet should definitely either be close or already have located where Peridot was.

"Woah, Amethyst! Look at this!" Steven's voice broke into her thoughts. She followed his pointed finger to a shimmery transparent shield covering another set of controls off to the side of the console. Jumping off the seat, Steven began to poke and prod at the shimmery, glass like shield. With almost a pop, the shield disappeared. Steven stared at the revealed set of switches. Looking over at Amethyst, he gave a shrug and flipped them. Immediately the room came to life.

Screens whirled on and both of them jumped as the light on the control boards flashed. Amethyst gave a whoop as the screens flashed and beamed. "Nice job Steven! Now let's get to work!"

Without waiting for Steven, Amethyst shoved off the side of the console and let out a yelp of surprise as the chair glided much faster than before without Steven's added weight. Giving a laugh, her hands traced the shiny, pristine buttons and a devious smirk graced her lips.

"First order of business is to do what I love to do best." Amethyst spoke, her eyes tracing the controls. Cracking her fingers, she nodded to Steven who had come up behind the chair. "Let's break this place apart!"

 


	7. Chapter 7

Amethyst leaned forward in her chair. Her brows furrowed together and she stared expectantly at the intercom.

For the last five minutes, she and Steven had been smashing buttons and ripping through circuitry with an unrelenting glee that could only come from two Quartz’ tearing apart a fancy cockpit. There was an unexplainable fun to having ‘sabotage’ as the goal of the mission.

It just about beat racing around and tearing apart the beach house with Steven. But Amethyst couldn't deny that Pearl’s shrieking was just about as good as this. She loved it when Pearl’s face burned a bright red. Her hands moved in a flurry of movement before settling on her hips. It was almost prudent to get a bowl of popcorn before sticking around to listen to a long winded nagging session.

Amethyst would never forget the time that she had accidently spilled the beans on a really cool ancient scavenger hunt that they had found on a mission. It was before Peridot had even started training if she remembered correctly. Steven, Connie and the little green nerd had gone racing off to find whatever lied at the end of it. Amethyst had half heartedly suggested they didn't go but it wasn't like she wasn't curious about it herself. Only Garnet and Pearl were wary of it.

Half the town has been dragged along because of Peridot’s big mouth shouting to the roof tops about ‘hidden treasure’. In all honesty, Amethyst didn't even remember how they had even gotten their hands on the map in the first place.

Amethyst could still remembered Pearl’s horror struck expression when all those people piled into the house and jumped onto the warp pad. It had taken Garnet to drag Mr. Smiley from the Strawberry Battlefields and back to town. The guy was determined to dig the whole place up and find all the ‘treasure’.

Amethyst grimaced at the thought. It had taken a darker turn when he had found remnants of gem shards encrusted in the dirt and over ancient weapons. It was a tense silence while both Garnet and Pearl stood still and stared stoically at the disturbed ruins. Each of them had respectfully put their weapons away and re buried it all by hand. The only thing they did was bubble a few of the gen shards that had been piled up by where Mr. Smiley was digging.

That was a hard day for both Garnet and Pearl. And it was also the only day she had ever really seen Pearl vehemently scold Connie. With a look in her eye, Pearl and Connie exchanged some quick words that Amethyst didn't catch. The girl had seemed to shrink under Pearl’s severe frown and it wasn't another moment before the girls both disappeared to the arena while Garnet dealt with Steven and Peridot.

Amethyst didn't bother to stick around for the lecture and had disappeared to her room for a while before making her way back to the Strawberry Battlefields.

It had been Garnet who had eventually found her, staring glassy eyed at the destruction that was scarred into the beautiful, sweet smelling fields. The back of her neck had crawled as she had carefully picked over and tried to fix whatever had been trampled over. She could still remember the heavy piece of rusted metal that had been weighing in her hand. She had felt Garnet’s presence behind her and a rough hand was placed on her shoulder. Neither had said a word as both of them worked to put together what Amethyst felt was partially her fault for causing.

She hadn't gone back there since but hopefully new vines and bushes were covering the dirt patches.

But at the end of the day, they had all come together for a wonderful little ‘apology’ cook out that Steven and Peridot had planned. Amethyst hadn't seen either Connie or Pearl for the duration of the setup. But the girl had showed up with Pearl just as Greg had almost finished sizzling up the the hotdogs and hamburgers.

Amethyst had taken one glance at the pair, taking note of the younger’s slightly puffy eyes, before giving her teammate a slightly questioning glance. Pearl caught her gesture and gave reassuring nod of her own. Her light hands fluttered at Connie’s side and Pearl ran a hand through her tangled braid before making her way over to Garnet.

All three of the Crystal Gems had caught eyes and each quietly observed as Peridot, Connie and Steven had conglomerated into a mass of hugging.

Amethyst hadn't pushed much beyond that. Pearl and Connie had a bond that Amethyst respected. The human girl was truly adored by Pearl in every way and the purple gem had been sure in that moment that all had been worked out.

Lapis had swooped in a little later, causing an eruption of excitement from everyone. It was a nice finish to the evening. Lapis had been out on mission after mission- mostly on her own agenda as much as Garnet and Pearl vaguely cued that she was on ‘Crystal Gem’ business.

Amethyst shook her head at that. She had kept her running commentary unusually quiet on that particular subject. She had already argued about it with Garnet but it was clear that it wasn't ‘any of her business’ which was probably the biggest slap in the face.

It had been long time since she had truly felt in odds with Pearl and Garnet on a serious subject matter. But as much as she tried, it didn't seem to make a difference. It was clear that the three of them didn't want to involve her besides making sure Steven was busied when they were out.

" _What do you mean it's ‘none of my concern’!” Amethyst spit out, her hands crossed tightly over her chest. She pointedly looked at each of their faces. Pearl had immediately looked away, her foot tapped lightly against the ground and she shifted uncomfortable where she stood. Her sword settled by her side and her face tilted down in a clearly guilty manner- but it seemed she was going to stay tight lipped._

_Pearl bit her lip and glanced at the other two, “Garnet? Couldn't we just-”_

_“Pearl.” Garnet’s tone was strong and silenced the renegade pearl in a single word. Amethyst’s took a sharp breath as Pearl’s eyes softened with an emotion that she couldn't identify. Amethyst hadn't ever seen Pearl look her her like that and she felt a tinge of confusion and anger flash through her._

_Her eyes slid over to Garnet but the fusion met her glare head on. Soft blue light zinged off her shades and Amethyst’s chest went tight, “I am just as much as a Crystal Gem as you.” Amethyst’s unsteady voice brokered across the room, her fist was going white with the effort to control herself. “I deserve to know.” Her eyes glanced between Pearl and Garnet._

_‘I've been here for almost half a century, fought battle after battle- poured into this team and yet…” Her voice trailed off and her teeth clenched as a bright purple glow emulated from her gem._

Amethyst dismissed the thought and her chest became tight. She swallowed and her face flushed with the train of events that was working on a loop inside her head. The conversation had become heated and things were said that could be regretted on both sides.

And then Lapis of all gems….

Amethyst screwed her eyes shut and she turned slightly in the pilot's seat.

With no one to talk to and a heart full of confusion and anger. She'd gone to the only place that really still gave her comfort. Her kindergarten. But Garnet had beat her to it. As she had raced from the warp pad, tears staining her face- the fusion had met her there.

Amethyst contemplated between the two options of running away to a hidey hole or standing her ground and fighting Garnet to have her favorite rock to herself. But instead, she had sat with her back to Garnet. She didn't have the courage to look the fusion in the face but she was still stubborn enough to stand her ground.

There was a long, quiet moment, and then two before Garnet had broken her resolve in only a few quiet words. She had spirited Amethyst away to someplace that she had never seen before.

It was a field full of sunflowers, bright and cheerful as their stalks glowed bright in the light and the petals basked in the sun’s warmth.

But when they had stepped off the warp pad and gotten close, it was easy to see the scars in the land and in the fields from what must've been a battle of the century. Or what was one of the major battles to protect Earth from Homeworld as Garnet had mentioned to her.

It was there that Garnet had explained why she couldn't be truly be a part of the high profile missions. The fusions’ words had stung to some degree but there were certain aspects of the mission that she truly didn't want to be part of.

_‘Who the Crystal Gems used to be, the origins of the Crystal Gems, General Rose Quartz of the Rebellion- all these things are lost to history.’ Garnet spoke, the wisps of grass swayed in the breeze and the light shined down through the clouds, basking the fields in golden rays of the sun. Garnet’s breath fell heavy and Amethyst could almost feel the shift of emotion in her. ‘And it needs to stay that way. No matter what.’_

_Amethyst swallowed and her eyes flashed to Garnet in slight apprehension and confusion._

_‘There has never been a good war Amethyst. There are things that must never be brought into the light.’ Walking over through the fields, Garnet gestures to the half buried swords and the remnants of what was once a raging battle ground. ‘Like these weapons, like this battle- it has to be allowed to be grown over and disappear.’_

Amethyst still didn't like that she couldn't know everything. She respected Garnet enough to not push it anymore. But that didn't mean she had to like it- or Lapis.

After their confrontation, the purple gem had taken to staying very surface level to avoiding the gem as much as possible. Not that it was very difficult to do so, Lapis wasn't around her enough to make it much of a problem. But it still irked her everytime she saw Garnet, Pearl and Lapis disappear into the temple for another one of their meetings. Amethyst knew that everyone else trusted Lapis but the purple gem was still apprehensive. There was something decidedly suspicious about her actions.

The only thing Amethyst couldn't deny was Lapis’ attitude about Steven and Peridot. The winged gem really did care about Steven and took what he did to heart. She put in the extra mile for him, many times bringing him back little souvenirs from her missions after Steven had mentioned Garnet doing it when he was younger. It became a bit of a game between them, Lapis would leave little clues around and he has to guess what they were.

Peridot and Lapis were roommates and the little green dorito loved being around the aloof gem. Amethyst knew how much she looked up to Lapis, despite being more versed in Earth mannerisms. Amethyst had no doubts about Lapis’ loyalties to Steven and Amethyst. But to the rest of the Crystal Gems?

Nope.

Amethyst wasn't sure about the whole ‘trapped in a mirror’ thing but she know a thing or two about having unresolved anger. And she could read it all over Lapis’ face. She could see the bitterness and the anger and the sorrow...

Amethyst knew the war had done things to Lapis, just like it had done things individually to each of the Crystal Gems.

Garnet had realized who she was as gem and had gained a leadership ability and a self awareness that exuded confidence and wisdom that had lead the Crystal Gems to where they were today. But she knew of the pain, the faltering moments where Garnet had fell into moment to doubt and uncertainty.

Blue Diamond’s hard voice that demanded the shattering of her very being, condemning love to be stamped out. Pearl, Amethyst and Steven knew of her fears of the Diamond Authority. What would happen if Homeworld came swooping in for to stamp them all out, to stamp her.

Her, an outcast.

Pearl was a chapter book of demons. They had fought together for years and yet not once had Pearl ever breathed a word of the treatment she had endured under Homeworld to Amethyst. The treatment of her status was something of an unspoken taboo.

But that was only when she was awake. There was a reason why Pearl had gotten waterfalls in her room, it drowned out the screams.

Amethyst knew of the whispers of the stories of the ‘Renegade Pearl’. She was somewhat of a anomaly. Glory, honor, heroics, her bold attitude and strong fighting ability were all things were things that Pearl had fought her very being for. Rose had brought Pearl out from the drudges of Homeworld’s political society.

Pearl had been one of the perfect; shaped and poised. But then in a flurry of events and pink tinted petals, Rose had not only stolen Pearl’s loyalty to Homeworld but had stolen her heart in one fell swoop.

Whispered conversations and intimate dances, a forbidden fusion and Pearl was swept into a breathless bliss that was all wrapped up into one gem. Her rose colored quartz. Her Rose Quartz who had shaped her into the knight she was today.

She became bold and biting and one of the strongest gems that Amethyst has ever known.

But with the tides of war, and the pain that the battles brought, Pearl still struggled with who she had been on Homeworld. She struggled with Rose; the loss of the gem she had loved the most and her conflicting emotions about the years gone by. She feared for Steven’s future and desperately fought for his safety as Homeworld’s stigma dogged his every step.

She was was a one of a kind gem, special and yet… an outcast.

Amethyst felt something uneasy settle in her stomach as she turned her head to look over at Steven of was fiddling with the camera switches. As he reached up over the panel, his shirt slightly slid up and she caught a glance of his rose colored gem. It flickered in the light and she quickly turned her head.

Steven was someone who beared the weight of the war on his shoulders. He hadn't even been involved and yet the legacy of Rose Quartz almost seemed to define his destiny. All they had ever wanted for Steven; especially Greg, was that he could grow up without the deep seated ideology of the rebellion and Homeworld to effect his growing up.

But it was impossible to stay out of his life.

There were so many things to consider when it came to their group. Greg had gone back and forth many times, arguing with Garnet loudly on the subject when Steven was young. Many things that Amethyst hadn't understood until a few years later

But in the end, it had been Rose’s choice, just like having Steven had been her choice. She had wanted the Crystal Gems to be a part of his life just like she wanted Steven’s humanity to shine through him.

But despite Rose’s and Greg’s wishes, his mother’s shadow fell heavily over him. He grappled with an ancient war with his gem at the very center of it.

Amethyst had once heard the phrase that those who shine the brightest have the most sorrow….

Amethyst closed her eyes for a moment and her head turned back over to Steven. His tongue was sticking out in concentration. She could see Pearl and Garnet up in the screen now. Steven was following their movement on the security camera. They slashed their way through doors and other metal constructs as they blew through every room in a mad search.

His eyes were shining bright with each punch of Garnet’s gauntlets and Amethyst smiled at his enthusiasm.

Just like his shirt, he was the shining star of their lives. The Crystal Gems wouldn't be the Crystal Gems without him.

And just like them, he was an outcast. An outcast from both humanity and Homeworld.

Peridot was an interesting character. When she had first landed on Earth, they all thought she was going to be nothing but trouble.

The little green menace had pranced around the kindergartens; wreaking all kinds of havoc on their communications and causing problems. She was stubborn, prideful and dogmatic in her loyalty to her ‘previous Yellow Diamond’.

And yet that had all changed. Amethyst couldn't even say that Peridot was the same gem she used to be.

When she had chosen their side, defected and insulted Yellow Diamond- she had become an outcast from Homeworld.

Amethyst couldn't say she didn't snicker at Peridot’s continual panic that Yellow Diamond would come swooping out from the sky to eat her or something along those lines.

But she could see Peridot growing everyday and becoming more and more of a Crystal Gem.

They all loved their little green nerd. She was young, impressionable and a lot more like a younger, much more annoying Steven than anyone would like to admit. She had the same curiosity as he did when he was younger. Not that Steven demanded to know if everything was a weapon but she looked at the Earth with a childlike wonder that they had first seen the planet with.

And Amethyst herself… She was just like the rest of them. Too runty for Homeworld’s tastes. Not the ‘warrior’ that they expected out of a quartz. She wasn't like the rest of them. She was her own special outcast. Left behind from the very beginning.

Each of them were outcasts. Outcasts from Homeworld, outcasts from humanity. No place they really truly belonged.

But the thing about outcasts is that they can recognize each other better than anyone else can.

And they could all see that Lapis was an outcast just like them.

And outcasts had to stick together.

So Amethyst kept her mouth shut on her misgivings towards the blue gem and instead focused herself on all the others; wrestling with Steven, getting into trouble with Peridot, annoying Pearl, learning new things from Garnet, painting with Vidalia, jamming with Greg, fighting with Pearl- side by side or against her.

There were so many things about Earth that Amethyst loved. So many things that she fought for. So many more things that she wanted to experience with everyone.

So Amethyst was okay with Garnet, Pearl and Lapis keeping their secrets. There were demons that came from the war. An overbearing darkness that had been buried deep in the temple away from their bright and sunny beach house.

“Amethyst! Amethyst! I found Peridot!” Steven’s voice shook her and Amethyst turned.

Whipping her chair over, she stared at the screen and her eyes were glued to Peridot’s form. She was sprawled against the floor, Amethyst could see the hurt in her body as she traced the cracked visor with her eyes.

A fury enveloped her mind as she stared at the  
enemy that she hadn't been able to see before. Her eyes closed for a moment as the gem’s for was burned into her mind.

With a quiet breath she stared at Peridot. Looking over at Steven, she could see his worry and shock at the sight of her bloodied body. The figure stood menacingly over her before stalking around to the consoles that already seemed to be broken.

The Crystal Gems were the only thing she has really ever known. It was the sun of her life that had once been overbearing loneliness.

But she knew with every sunny day came a sunset.

And Amethyst would do everything in her power to prolong the sunset as long as possible.

She would keep them all smiling. Smiling and laughing until she couldn't smile anymore.

Amethyst’s beamed victoriously as notifications came up on the screen next to her.

_‘Thrusters offline’_

_‘System management at ten clicks per minute’_

_‘Coolant pumps offline’_

_‘--ERROR---  
\-----ERROR--ERROR----’_

Each flicking line of code made Amethyst’s chest pound.

Cracking her knuckles, Amethyst ripped the mic off the intercom and stood in her chair. “Let’s get her out of here Steven, pipe me in.” 

Steven pressed a few of the icon buttons as he messed with the system buttons.

Tapping the mic, she turned to him, “Hello? Is this thing on?”

Staring at the screen, Steven shrugged, “I think so? The icon says it's on… I think? Maybe you're supposed to press the button on the side while talking into it.”

Taking the initiative, Steven pressed it for her and all they got was a blast of whining static.

“Why is all gem technology so difficult to work with?” She grumbled. Leaning over, Amethyst shoved a few buttons and both of them yelped at a loud pop. There was a buzz and Steven’s eyes lit up.

Rising from the console in front of them, a third dimensional hologram screen flickered before the ground floor popped up. They could clear see Peridot and the other gem who were now staring back at the camera that they must've been looking out of.

“I think it's on now.” Steven spoke, fumbling with the intercom. “Now try it! All you gotta do is hit the button.”

She quirked her brow as she could hear noise reviving back at her. “It's already on?”

Steven gave her a vigorous nod and she could feel her spirits lifting. Amethyst snatched the mic up and leaned back in the chair. With a coprophagous grin, she brought it up to her mouth. “This is our flight crew member Big Ame speaking!” She thrilled, her voice loudly echoing through the cockpit and hopefully the ship.

“With copilot Steven!” He chimed in, his voice echoing with happiness.

Both their eyes watched with happiness as Peridot’s haggard expression did a complete one eighty at the sound of their voices. Amethyst’s heart seemed to break as she could see the relief in Peridot’s eyes.

 _‘They're almost there, just hang on a few more minutes.’_ Amethyst silently whispered, her voice barely above a murmur. She glanced down at the security screens with Pearl and Garnet racing through the ship. She’d just have to stall just a bit longer.

"Today's flight to the Homeworld place has been uh... regrettably canceled due to some technical difficulties." Amethyst snickered and made a point of ripping out another electrical cord out from under the control panel. It was already a mess of wires.

A notification popped up on the screen and began to blink rapidly.

“I don't know the air flow mechanism was,” Steven spoke, watching the screen, “But it's gone now!”

“Oops!!” Amethyst grinned, trying her hardest to sound sorry, “My baad~” She dangled the sparking wire. “Here. Let me fix it!” Holding the pointy part up, she hammered it through the exposed board and choked out laughing as there was simultaneously an electrical failure that blew out from the console board in the room that Peridot was in. “Sorry 'bout that boss lady gem ma'am.” Amethyst spoke, leaning in towards the mic, “I'd fix it but it ain't my area of expertise. Also there might be a slight problem with the cooling system.”

“And don't forget about the holes in a few of the air ducts.” Steven added in, putting a hand to his chin as he thought about all the destructions.

“Thrusters broken.” Amethyst spoke, reading down the list.

“Hyperlink coordinates scrambled,” Steven chimed in, jumping down the list.

“Fluid brakes disabled.”

“-Fuel selector vaulted offline!”

“Incubation connectors at fourteen percent annnndddd dropping!”

“-flight gear control- offline-"

  
Both Amethyst and Steven stared at the long list and snickered as it only went longer with every button they pushed.

Leaning her elbows down on the console, Amethyst jumped as she accidentally hit a series of switches. A new map came up on the screen and her brow rose. Somehow she had triggered a picture of the entire ship and it's systems to appear. Not only that but it seemed that a new set of buttons appeared as well. Tossing the mic to Steven, she wheeled over to the separate screen and began to mash the buttons.

“Ohh! Hi Peridot! I can see you through the weird monitor thing! Is this how your ship was like when you first flew here?!" Steven enthusiastically asked, his face leaned into the screen and he gave a wave. Amethyst wasn't sure if Peridot could see or not but she hoped that Peridot could see them.

"Woah! There are two Peridots?! That's freaky!" Steven spoke, causing Amethyst to stop in her tracks.

Pushing the anti gravity chair back over, she squished next to Steven in order to get a better look.

“I don't really like the look of the other Peridot,” Steven frowned, his nose wrinkling as he took note of the darker colors and the wicked looking hair, “It doesn't look very nice-"

"Where in the name of the Diamond Authority did you two clowns come from?!"

The voice was harsh and it grated across the intercom system. Amethyst’s eyes narrowed as the enemy gem came closer and she got a look at this ‘peridot’. Her gem itches at the sight and she felt the urge to drag out her whip.

“I like our Peridot better.” Amethyst sniffed, giving a pointed look at the screen. “This crusty bucket of junk parts doesn't even look good enough to be used to fix up Greg’s van. And that's saying something!”

She rolled her eyes at the monologue of the other gem. Amethyst didn't even bother getting uptight about being called ‘runty’.

“First of all,” Amethyst spoke, buffing her nails against her chest, “Shortie squad for life, haters gonna hate.” She boasted, flexing her muscles as she nudged Steven- not noticing that she accidently knocked the mic from his hand. And second of all, you don't know a single thing about Earth of you think he-” She thumbed Steven with a grin, “-came from dirt.”

Amethyst’s eyes roamed over the enemy gem and she stretched out in the chair. She got a sense of satisfaction from making herself look as cozy as possible in the chair that didn't belong to her.

"Peridot! You're hurt!" Steven exclaimed, Amethyst watched as he went nose to nose with the screen. "Don't worry! We're gonna get you right out! Garnet and Pearl should be-" Steven was cut off from a deafening screech of static.

“Hey!” Amethyst exclaimed, jumping forward as the screen suddenly went black. Moving the chair over, a notification popped up.

_‘Security system override- E; 792876--- ERROR--  
\-----ERROR_

She scowled but from the looks of it, there was nothing more that they could do to get he feeds back on. Amethyst turned back towards the other security cameras and her eyes lit up as she saw both Garnet and Pearl close in on the room Peridot had been trapped in.

Moving back through the security screens, Amethyst’s eyes lingered on the door in front of the hangar. She and Steven watched as Garnet punched the door again and again until the metal was crunched and dented.

Smoke fumed from the room and the camera lense became so fogged that it was almost impossible to see. It wasn't another moment until some sort of debris hit the camera and that line went to static as well. But Amethyst was hopeful.

“Nice work Steven!” She exclaimed, giving him a high five. Nodding her head, she gave Steven a satisfactory grin. They had successfully completed the first part of their mission- sabotaging the control room.

But despite their success. Both Steven and Amethyst stared at the black screen in almost a hungry anticipation. There was still a lingering uneasiness in the air as both reflected on what they had seen.

“Will Peridot be all right?” Steven asked, voicing what they both were thinking.

Amethyst paused for a long moment before plastering an easygoing grin, “Of course she will! We’re here aren't we?!” She roughly noogied his curly mane.

' _I just hope we weren’t too late.’_ She silently added, her lips trembling slightly at the thought. The image of Peridot’s broken form sprawled out on the metal floor. Amethyst hoped her gem wasn't cracked.

She couldn't help but think about the strange looking gem. It seemed much more vicious than a good amount of Homeworld Gems they had fought in the past.

“I guess it's up to Garnet and Pearl now.” Steven spoke, twiddling his thumbs together.

Amethyst once again looked back at the security feed and tilted her head in thought. “I suppose it is. We did our job, now they’re going to do theirs.” Amethyst added, “And with those two on the case…” She trailed off but Steven finished it.

“-nothing can stop them.” He stated, his eyes shining like stars.

Amethyst gave a quick nod of her head before she ran her hands over the now dirtied keypad. “Now let's finish what we started. Do you think you could rip out the wiring under that panel over there?” Amethyst asked, pointing towards the other side of the room.

Steven turned and saluted, “I’m on it, Captain!” Amethyst snorted at his enthusiasm before waving him away. “Well you’d better do it quickly, copilot!”

Shaking her head, Amethyst turned back towards the fancy looking maps and a devilish smirk shadowed her face, “Now let's see what I can do with _these_!”


	8. Chapter 8

_Left, right, left, right, left, right_

There were thirty six squares markers that separated the metal beams that covered the floor. Enough for eighty five steps to reach the length of the room on average. This analysis included the extra few taken to avoid sharp debris and other materials that had to be taken into consideration.

Ruby had already memorized each potential weapon that the enemies could use and how they could go about attacking her. Each step was taken into consideration, not one was wasted or squandered in her patrol.

This was a soldier's march.

Back and forth did Ruby march across the room. Her eyes scanned the same debris as she made her rounds around the room. Her one eye glared menacingly at the prisoners and her jaw clenched. Her gem ached with every movement, no thanks to those worthless Crystal Rebels. Not that she would admit it to anyone, but that peridot had much more power in her stick like arms than Ruby had expected.

But Ruby knew that all of her bruises weren't just from the little green traitor. She distinctly and ashamedly remembered a brutally punishing fist to the face from her commander.

Ruby rubbed her cheek. She had received it near the control console after the Era One veteran had released her from the stockades. Ruby had made a major error when she had tried to assist in rewiring the hyper extension booster and had accidentally brushed up against her commander.

She had totally and utterly deserved it. It was a complete lack of decorum and it horrified her to think she had inappropriately touched her commander in such a way. She was grateful that an immediate, off the books disciplinary action was taken. It would be horrible to have a written report filed and placed on record. That would've sealed her fate. Ruby was thankful that she had at least been taken in by such a strong leader of a gem who was willing to do such bold actions.

Ruby had the utmost respect for the gems who had fought in the same war that she had. She was the only one in her squad that had been there when her Diamond had… The red gem paused in her militant march and her fists clenched as an old, familiar wave of anger and sorrow clenched at her battle hardened heart. What she would do if she ever found Rose Quartz again…

No one had thought that the Renegade Pearl or the War Machine would ever be captured. But here they were, all wrapped up like on big present to be presented to the Diamond's…. Oh how Ruby was ever so envious.

She had already failed her critical mission- her second chance. And she had let Rose Quartz slip through her fingers. It was hard to see someone else have such success even when it was for the good of the empire.

The embarrassment of being trapped not once but twice by the runty peridot made her predicament even worse. Ruby looked like an absolute fool in front of her impromptu commander who had single handedly captured them all. In comparison, she looked utterly useless. And it didn't help that she had already put herself on probation before there was a chance to prove herself. Her commanding officer was truly the only gem at the moment that could spare her life and possibly save her career.

Any Ruby in their right mind would be doing their best to impress and do everything they could to assist the gem that was clearly going to go down on Homeworld's records as a precious gem of the Diamond's.

But despite all of her knowledge, training and her innate duty to Homeworld, she somehow felt a bit put off and unsure of herself- even more than before. Which was ludicrous considering she had been stuck in a cell next to the traitors, about to be put on trial with the rest of them.

Ruby had stood quietly by the side and watched as her commander had dished out harsh punishment to the mouthy green gem who had no business addressing an upper level gem in such a manner- especially a highly respected war veteran.

Ruby supposed it may have been to do with the fact that they were both made from the same cut of gem. But it seemed that the Era Two traitor didn't understand the overwhelming difference between them. Era One peridots had been one of the most respected gems on the front line. Many of them were absolutely brilliant when it came to battle strategy and new weaponry to put down the rebellion. When an Era One peridot barked a command, you listened.

But it had been almost painful to watch her superior kick the already crippled peridot while making the other two fools watch. It had happened in slow motion for her. The moment her superior had turned around was the moment that Ruby had felt a shiver of trepidation in her heart. She couldn't help but avert her eyes at the last moment. Only her lips twitched with her inner cringing as she had to listen to the sickening crunch and the dull thud of the worn body hit against the floor.

Ruby slightly scraped her foot against a few larger pieces of metal that had fallen from the ceiling. Firming her lip, she turned to glance at the isolated prisoner.

Even now, the mouthy fool had barely moved from her position against the wall. The side of her body was transposed against the cold metal. Her shoulders were uncomfortably slumped forward from being thrown forward and her head laid precariously against the ground. Her nose barely skimmed the metal siding.

Ruby noted that the chains were fastened securely around her wrists despite having all of her body weight thrown against it. The red gem could appreciate good constraints when she saw them. The small expanse of the metal coated wires were in a heap around her as she barely twitched from where she had landed.

Ruby couldn't help but think that she looked absolutely pathetic. The green gem was so thoroughly defeated and weak, it was embarrassing. But somehow, Ruby couldn't find any contempt in her heart for such a show of weakness like she would for anyone else. Instead, an uneasy feeling of uncertainty and… guilt rise up from inside her.

She shook her head and kept on her march, making sure to keep exactly five feet away from the prisoners. She didn't care about anything other than keeping them alive long enough to be put on trial so they would all dutifully pay for their crimes. That's all she was feeling. Nothing more. Nothing less.

_Left, right, left, right, left, right_

Ruby was no Kindergartner but she did have a good amount of experience in the field. She had watched many gems executed before her, Ruby herself had shattered gems. She'd seen her previous teammates over the years cracked and shattered, she'd had her own gem cracked…

Ruby knew what it looked and sounded like to have your gem cracked beyond repair. And just from the ringing sound of the kick, the mouthy little defect didn't have much left in her.

The peridot's triangular gem had already been cracked before. Ruby knew from experience that even the smallest slivers left untreated could cause lifelong damage. Ruby hadn't gotten much of a glance at it due to the gem's position on the floor but she was sure it was a lot worse condition than just a few slivers.

She didn't care much about the rebels but an emotion closed up her throat and made it hard to swallow.

And it disgusted her.

It disgusted her that she felt any true emotion other than the need to do her best for Homeworld's sake. Soldiers weren't supposed to have feelings. Soldiers weren't supposed to doubt their commander's actions or words that were clearly in the mission's guidelines…

Ruby shook her head and an inappropriate and uncharacteristic laugh bubbled up. She wasn't even sure what the mission was anymore.

Her commanding officer had left her very little ability to do much of anything, considering the orders she had received. Even now, Ruby made sure that she did everything in her power not to openly glare at the corners of the walls for cameras and those nasty little crawling things.

Ruby would never admit it but seeing a peridot with their technology had always made her uneasy. It just didn't seem natural to her, working all alone with only cold, lifeless technology as a companion. She much preferred a ship full of rubies to fight alongside with!

The thought of her crew made her heart jump in fea- no! Not fear, never fear! She didn't fear anything at all! Rubies were tough! But she did have slight reservations and uncertainties towards the future of her crew and herself.

Where were they? Ruby hadn't seen any of them in a long time, not since they had been separated. And in all honesty, as much as she longed to see them again… Ruby didn't want to ever meet up with them again- not like this.

Deep down, she knew that there was a very slim chance that she was going to ever make it out of this alive. She was very aware of the fact that her commanding officer put her on almost the same level as the Crystal Gems. The only reason why she wasn't in the same cell with them was the fact that she happened to be useful for the moment.

She wasn't dumb or as naive as most every other gems seemed to view rubies as. Ruby knew her place and the most likely outcome of her gem after they were blasted back to Homeworld.

She wanted her crew to stay as far away as they possibly could from here. Ruby hoped that maybe they could find each other and continue to roam the galaxy on their seemingly endless missions and quests. They could even find a small planet to settle down on and keep a low profile for the next hundred years…

_"It doesn't have to be that way…"_

Ruby clutched her head and her head pounded with an oncoming headache as the peridot's words unwittingly ran through her mind. The right thing to do would be to turn yourself in and return straight back to Homeworld. The right thing to do would be to support your commanding officer and report your uncertainties so they could be rightfully stamped out.

_"We could escape!"_

_"I am a Crystal Gem."_

_"I said I'm going to help you escape! The least you could do would be to thank me!"_

The right thing to do would be to take the destabilizer and rightfully demand the two Crystal Gems to refrain talking and humming. The right thing to do would be to leave the broken peridot on the floor and continue a soldier's march.

But the peridots words went over and over in her mind.

Ruby had been alone, scared out of her mind with nothing but death in her future. But a gem who was considered her sworn enemy had wasted her own chance to escape by helping her. Ruby considered herself a fairly rational gem and it was clear that she would by lying if she didn't say that she had a good idea of how she had ended up under that console board.

And the only rational answer there was didn't make any sense at all.

She tried to deny it but there was obviously one one gem who had broken her out of the cell in the first place. Actually, the peridot's failed attempt at an escape was the only reason why she had the opportunity to redeem herself in the first place.

Why would the peridot do such a thing? What was she trying to get from her? There had to be some sort of twisted, underhanded angle that the peridot was going for. Her false kindness was nothing more than an act of weakness. And the worst part was that it was working.

On the outside Ruby looked the same but on the inside she was in turmoil. She hated that she had allowed the traitor to get to her like this.

She had spent the entire time ignoring the Crystal Gem's words; whispers that were probably about escaping. She turned a blind eye to the encouraging words to their downed teammate. She tolerated the pacing and the low, resonating voice that was humming something inexplicable soothing while simultaneously driving her crazy.

Ruby couldn't help but look at the source of the sound. The War Machine sat obediently in the cell. She sat crossed legged and said nothing. But Ruby's spine crawled and she could almost feel the savage's gaze on her back. It was unnerving. She felt like the fusion was gazing into her very soul.

It made Ruby almost wanna curl up and hide. The War Machine's powers were shrouded in mystery. Full of tricks and dangerous powers that only caused destruction. Nothing good came from any of the Crystal Gems.

She hoped that the War Machine couldn't see into her. She was afraid that they might be able to see the traitorous thoughts brewing in her heart. Was she being bewitched? Was the fusion controlling her mind with her powers.

_"I don't know when to give up!"_

Ruby's teeth grit as the same hopeful voice echoed through her mind. Her eye turned with laser like focus to the peridot. Looking down, her feet rubbed against a few pieces of debris. Closing her eye, Ruby could no longer deny the fact that she had previously been trying to ignore.

She owned the mouthy traitor for saving her skin.

And what was worse about it was the fact that she wasn't even sure if the feeling of relief was from the fact that she now had a legitimate excuse to do what she was about to do. Because deep down, Ruby didn't even know if she was doing this because she owed the gem or because she felt… she felt...

Ruby refused to even acknowledge such a traitorous thought. She wouldn't, couldn't feel such a thing as compassion.

She grit her teeth and finally let out a rough yell of anger that wasn't uncommon for the easily angered gem. Her foot came down and slammed against the floor in a show of frustration. She wasn't even sure what she was feeling anymore. Her emotions weren't making any sense. But she knew that inaction was only going to make the growing feeling in her chest even worse.

Bending down, she quickly raced around the room. Ruby snatched up each and every piece she could find. With an armful of yellow shards, she raced towards the console board and shoved everything off of it to give herself some room.

Setting the shards down next to her, she looked around for the next few items she would need. Sprinting to the side wall, she grabbed a searing hot electrical wire and ripped it off the panel. It only took a few hard tugs to drag it across the room over to the control panel.

Ruby grunted as she climbed up onto the console. She paused for a moment and stared at the wires sparking in her hand, was she really going to do this?

"Ah stars." Ruby spat, grinding her teeth together as her heart pounded with an emotion that she couldn't explain and yet felt the undying urge to act upon.

Yes she was going to do this.

Slowly, Ruby grabbed a sharp edge and began to melt each edge together. Not that anyone else would know, but this wasn't the first time that she had done a task like this and was familiar with how to do it.

She worked feverishly for the next few minutes. She could feel the stares of the other gems on her but she didn't even have the gumption to care about what they thought. Ruby just needed to do this, just to at least feel like she paid back the stupid peridot for what she had attempted to do for her. Even if she hated the Crystal Gems.

A red glow emulated from her gem and she pulled her weapon from her chest. Ruby stared down at it for moment.

Last time she had used it, she had been specifically trying to kill Rose Quartz. Now she was using it to try and pay back a debt she owed to a rebel who was part of the same group. It was slightly ironic.

Flipping it in her hand with a dexterity that came from being very familiar with one's weapon, she set to work. The edge of her weapon worked perfectly to chisel away and sharpen any and all discrepancies in the broken material.

It only took another minute or so to put it together before she superheated it to make sure it wouldn't fall back apart.

Setting down her heat source, she carefully slotting in the last two pieces and held them together.

There. It was finished.

Ruby stared down at her work and conflicting feelings went through her. She could easily just smash it. But the big scheme of things, the fate of the Crystal Gems wasn't going to change- and neither would hers. So did it really matter in the end if she did this one small thing?

With her final thoughts out. Ruby stood from her hunched position over the console. Picking up her finished work. She tentatively made her way over to the peridot.

The other two of the Crystal Gems noticed her movement and immediately the Renegade Pearl stood with her fists clenched. The War Machine did nothing. The only betrayal of what the savage could've possibly been thinking was only shown in that she had stopped humming to observe.

Ruby ignored the looks and she pointedly kept her line of sight on the peridot. She almost winced as she crossed the five foot marking and hesitated for a slight moment before straightening her shoulders.

With the same soldiers march as before, Ruby walked right up to the peridot. Her shadow fell over the peridot and fist gripped slightly around the destabilizer in her left hand.

"Stay _away_ from her." A voice cut through the air and Ruby turned her head towards the Renegade Pearl whose tone echoed dangerous across the room.

Sticking a hand in her pocket, Ruby's own icy glare met the Renegade's. A low growl brewed in her chest and she could feel her feet beginning to smoke with the feelings flaming in her chest. Taking a step towards the prison she faced up the pearl.

Standing as close as she could to the barrier, the pearl's striking eyes burned into hers. Ruby could see the power and conviction in her figure. Wicked beauty emulated from her the figure.

"So the stories are true." Ruby spoke, her voice without emotion. There was nothing but ice in her eyes as her heart brewed with contempt for Rose Quartz' first in command.

There were whispers across the years and across the galaxy. Whispers that not only spoke of the Renegade's skill and anger but spoke of her beauty. Ruby always wondered what the Renegade Pearl had looked like on the battlefield.

Ruby remembered when she had been stationed as part of the second support team when she had come across the carnage that was ripped through the E57 base on Earth.

The base had originally been a makeshift communication center. It was a constant bustle of movement and it had quickly expanded much in the first three years it had been planted. Homeworld had even imported a few amethyst squads to guard the incoming ships.

One of the greatest things that base ever accomplished was capturing and shipping off a garrison of Crystal Gem recruiters who had tried and failed to infiltrate the base.

But the day of her fifteenth mission, everything had changed. They had come back from a successful scouting mission- only to find the place completely wrecked. Ruby would never forget the sound of silence. The sound of absolute nothing where there was supposed to be nothing but noise.

Just as she and her fellow rubies were about to charge in, their commanding officer- a Carrasite Jasper if she remembered correctly, had stopped them in their tracks. It was when the sun came out that she had almost fallen to her knees.

The rays of the Earth's star beamed down through the clouds and the true horror was illuminated.

Everything sparkled and glowed with the dust of her fallen comrades. The grass swayed as the wind blew clouds of glittering dust towards them. Her own hands had shimmered as the shards of her fallen comrades stained her skin. That was the same day that she had lost any and all naivety.

Searching through the empty hull of the base, they had only found one survivor. Her gem in her chest was almost split through and the body of the amethyst was so weak that she looked more like a hologram than a gem.

_"I-I'm sorry- we tried but i-it… I-I saw, I-I s-saw.. It hurts ma'am. P-Please…"_

_"What did you see soldier." Jasper spoke, her voice uncharacteristically subdued as gripped the amethyst's hand. "How many were there?"_

_"J-Just one ma'am." Her voice shook and her features looked tired. "Didn' see h-her get in. She was so quick, w-we didn' even get to soun' th' alarms." Tears slipped from her eyes but they didn't even slip off her face before they dissipated in a small flash of red light. "She was…"_

_Ruby leaned in and her fist shook with the intensity of her grip around her weapon._

_"She was th' most beautiful pearl I've ever seen." The amethyst whispered, her voice choking out. Her tongue was heavy as the words came out recklessly without seeming any focus to them. The whisper was barely strained but they had all clearly heard it. "L-Like an angel of d-death. I-I! I can't... It hurts m-ma'am, it really h-hurts..." She choked out something too quiet for the rest of them to hear. Her commanding officer leaned down and carefully listened to the quiet whispers the amethyst had to offer._

_Wordlessly, Jasper cradled the amethyst in her large arms. The gem writhed painfully but didn't put much of a fight against being moved. Her commanding officer bowed her head for a moment and the other gems in the room took a step back at the seemingly personal moment between the_ two.

_"Homeworld thanks you for your service." Jasper spoke, her voice devoid of emotion. Ruby eyes went wide with the ringing of a broadsword and the sudden, final poof of the amethyst._

_All five of them stared down at the broken pieces of the red gem before their leader broke their stares._

_"Let's go. We have to report back to the other two bases. The Renegade Pearl is coming."_

That was all Ruby could think of when she looked at the terrifyingly beautiful gem. An angel of death. A low growl rumbled in her chest and she deliberately took a step forward towards peridot.

Holding the destabilizer up, she had the fleeting thought to stab the peridot through. The thought that she could bring hurt to the gem who had hurt so many of her comrades during the war gave her a sense of vicious satisfaction.

And she could do it, she could do it right now. She could watch their faces morph into hopelessness and pain. She hated the Crystal Gems, she hated everything that they had done. She hated Rose Quartz and hated that her Diamond had been shattered because of their selfishness. Given the chance, she would shatter Rose Quartz in a heartbeat.

So why?

The destabilizer slipped from her hands and the pearl jumped the sound.

Why did she feel like this?

The red gem clenched her shaking fists and her teeth grit. Turning around, she marched towards the green gem. Ruby squatted down and gripped the peridot's shoulders. Careful not to aggravate any of her wounds, she lifted her up. The peridot was lifeless in her grip. Her head lulled back and her left hand thudded quietly against the metal.

Ruby took a small moment to gaze down at the body she was now cradling against her chest. Her eyes scanned over every cut and scrape before settling on her face. Ruby was blow back with an overwhelming moment of shock when she realized how fresh the peridot was. This gem looked like she could've come fresh out of training. She was probably at the most, three decades from the day she had come from her kindergarten. And that was probably stretching it.

She sucked in a breath when she traced the deep riveting cut in her forehead. It was deep and had split off through the entire left side of her gem. Ruby could see a few layers had flaked off the top in a few places. Already, Ruby could tell that the green gem was getting weaker with every moment.

But she was still alive.

_"I never give up!"_

The same words played through her mind and a silent laugh bubbled up.

 _'Well_ _she's right about_ _one_ _thing,'_  Ruby thought, shaking her head, _'This_ _one_ _is a_   _fighter_ _for_ _sure.'_

Behind her, she could hear two gasps as the other two gems caught sight of the gem. The sound broke Ruby from her thoughts and she moved the peridot from her arms to up against the wall. Supporting the back of her neck, Ruby made sure that she was correctly placed against the wall as so she couldn't slump down and potentially hurt her gem anymore.

Her footsteps chinked slight against the chains and Ruby carefully stepped around them. Taking a small breath, she took what she had made from her pocket.

Ruby examined the newly made visor. It reminded her of the many times she had welded her teammates visor back together. Her team was full of a bunch of clutz' and numbskulls. But she wouldn't have it any other way. Ruby put the visor on the peridot's lap before taking a step back.

Too bad it was really all for nothing in the end.

She felt two pairs of eyes on her but this time she couldn't help but glance back at them.

Both the rebels were staring. The Renegade was staring longingly at the green gem with a strangely pensive look on her face. Her hand reached out but she flinched and took a slight step back as it came contact with the barrier.

The fusion however was staring directly at her. The savage's shoulder's which were tense, seemed to unwind and she her posture changed to something a bit more subdued.

The Renegade Pearl stepped again towards the barrier but instead of looking at the peridot, she looked directly back at her. Ruby was surprised. Instead of staring into the gaze of a monster, all she saw was vulnerable gem who just cared for their teammate.

"Thank you."

The words broke the silence and Ruby turned her head away. She had no desire to acknowledge any such words coming from the Renegade. Taking a small breath she stood. She gave the pair a sideways glance. "I didn't do it for you." She flatlined, her tone borderline hostile. "If you really cared about gems. You would've never taken part in the rebellion in the first place." She screwed her eyes for a moment before leveling them both with a glare. "This changes nothing. All of you are going to be put on trial." Ruby spoke, trying to keep her tone level and uncaring, "You will be placed before the Diamonds and then you will publicly executed for every gem to see." The Pearl moved to speak but Ruby cut her off with a biting growl, "And that peridot will die right alongside you! She will be dragged back to Homeworld; beaten, mocked and scorned... and then, her gem will be broken." Ruby's voice rang true and her words seemed to pierce through the pearl. "And the only one you will have to blame is _yourself."_

 _'The only thing that that came from the_ _war was the death of countless lives.'_ Ruby thought but didn't say. There was a sense of satisfaction as she got nothing but silence in return. 

_Left, right, left, right, left, right_

Ruby picked up the destabilizer off the floor and continued her soldiers march. On the outside she looked like the perfect ruby. Shoulders square, head held high, she was combat ready. But on the inside, something had changed, something was different.


End file.
